Sports Products and Decent Work Ashling Seely ITGLWF

“Race to the Bottom” Unregulated globalisation in the textile, clothing and leather sector has destroyed jobs in traditional manufacturing areas and transported them to places free from legal restraint. Sportswear is often produced in factories and workplaces where insecurity, harsh treatment, long working hours, low pay, and abuse are the norm.

Child Labour Children as young as 4 produce sportswear for export to Europe & North America They often work in the most appalling conditions Many die before reaching adulthood

Child labour is not a phenomenon that can be dealt with in isolation, it is both a cause and consequence of poverty and low levels of social welfare.

Hazardous working conditions In Bangladesh TB is x2 as common amongst garment workers Many workers only see PPE when auditors visit – result is 40,000 fingers lost annually in Pearl River Delta alone

Garib & Garib Factory Fire 22 workers dead and 50 more injured Poor ventilation, exits locked and stairwell blocked Multinational sourcing there says their audit revealed no serious safety concerns In past 5 years alone, over 150 workers have died in similar disasters in Bangladesh

Poverty wages...

...for extremely long working hours

A sportswear worker in Vietnam works 10 to 13 hours a day with only two days off a month for daily earnings of US$ 2.05 Amount Nike paid basketball star LeBron James in a single year: $13,000,000

No job security

Modern slavery Recruitment fee = loan + interest = chain = bonded labour

Denial of fundamental human right to unionise Menderes Tekstil Union leaders and their families laid off or transferred Those who agreed to resign from union reinstated

Real change Move beyond codes of conduct and social auditing Stronger labour legislation better enforced by governments Commitment from retailers and employers to share the benefits of production

What must sportswear brands do? Be transparent – disclose supplier locations Favour suppliers where decent work exists: – Unionised workforce – All work in house – Collective agreement – Living wage for normal work week – No contract labour

What can consumers do? “...all of us as consumers must pay greater attention to the conditions of manufacture of the items we purchase, insist on guarantees that production conditions complied with international requirements and refuse to buy any fashion item where that guarantee is not forthcoming.” Neil Kearney

Thank you