China says investigates child labor accusation (merchandising for next year's Beijing Olympics)

[Omaha Steve]

Source: Reuters


China says investigates child labor accusation

June 12, 2007

BEIJING (Reuters) - China said on Tuesday it was looking into allegations that Chinese factories used children to produce merchandising for next year's Beijing Olympics.

The Playfair Alliance said in a report released in London on Monday that children as young as 12 were involved in packaging licensed stationery products for the Games at a factory in southern China.

"The Beijing Organising Committee for the Games (BOCOG) has been contacting the factories cited in the report to verify (the accusations)," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said.

Qin said BOCOG had "very strict" labor rights and social responsibility requirements when contracting factories to make licensed Olympic merchandise.



Read more: http://www.boston.com/news/world/asia/articles/2007/06/12/china_says_investigates_child_labor_accusation/

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This story first broke in the Labor Forum yesterday.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=367x1700

Source: BBC News

Last Updated: Sunday, 10 June 2007, 21:48 GMT 22:48 UK

Olympic firms 'abusing workers'

Some official merchandise for the 2008 Olympics in China has
been made using child labour, forced overtime and low wages
to boost profits, a report says.

Playfair - an alliance of world trade unions - has condemned
"severe workers' rights violations" in four Chinese factories
ahead of the Beijing games.

The group said it found abuses at the factories - licensed
to make official Olympic caps, bags and stationery.

Companies cited in the report have denied the allegations.

International Olympic Committee said it supported ethical
practices.

-snip-

Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6739159.stm

[fasttense]

1. Isn't it also common practice in Communist China to use prison labor

to produce products? It seems to me that when you are dealing with a communist country you have all sorts of labor abuses. They treat Communist China like any other trading partner when every trade merely profits the Communist government. It is like trading with Nazi Germany.