Rights agreement signed with Olympic goods suppliers
Ground-breaking success for workers producing Adidas clothes in the Philippines
A landm Image by Playfair 2012
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The deal covers factories which supplied Olympic goods, including Adidas products.
The global trade unions IndustriALL and ITUC organised the meeting where the agreement was signed, following a complaint by Labour Behind the Label to LOCOG, the organisers of the London Olympic Games.
Labour Behind the Label made the complaint after publication of the Fair Games report by the Playfair 2012 campaign, which War on Want supports.
Researchers for the report found that all Filipino workers interviewed were scared to join a union over fears they would lose their jobs.
More than half the workers said that in order to cover their basic needs they are forced to pawn their bank cash dispenser cards for high interest loans.
War on Want says the agreement is an incredible success for workers’ rights, as the sportswear brands and their suppliers not only commit to national labour laws, but also to promoting freedom of association.
This shows the impact of campaigning around the Olympics, especially for the Playfair drive.
But the charity stressed that more needs to be done.
In the meeting all parties committed to work together over the next two months on issues such as the lack of authentic workers representation, low awareness of workers rights, inadequate grievance mechanisms and low wages.
The outcome of the meeting was crucial since workers in the Philippines still receive less than a living wage.
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