Thursday, May 19, 2011

Sweat-free Olympics Play Fair 2012

"The legal minimum wage in Sri Lanka is Rs7,900 (£45 per month). Although workers making goods for Adidas, Nike and Speedo tend to get paid Rs10,000 (£55 per month) this is still below the official UN global poverty line of $2 a day. People can't meet their basic needs with this meagre wage. A recent survey by the Sri Lankan government found that 67 per cent of women working in the garment sector are suffering from anaemia because of poor diet." 

This is an extract from a disturbing report on the Trade Unions Cogress (TUC) site on working conditions for the (mostly) women making sports-clothing for Adidas, Nike and Speedo in Sri Lanka.  Trade unionist Nirosha Priyadarshini Manankanda Dewage recently came to the UK to give a series of speeches on the factories and let us know what we can do to help her improve life for these workers. 


You can read this full TUC report here

It's disheartening how little things have changed. Have you read No Logo? You could think with all the attention given to sweat-shops they might disappear but it seems the bottom-line still rules.

What can we do?
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2 comments

Snowcatcher said...

I've always been concerned that we pay bottom dollar to have our fads so people who make what we are buying can just barely exist. But if we stop buying, they have no job and no way to exist. Thanks for the link to the book. I'll be checking that out.

niamh said...

@Snowcatcher - There has been some reform in terms of increasing wages but all the big companies hear ref that is lower profits for them.

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