By Peter Murphy

ABIDJAN (Reuters) - Top world cocoa producer Ivory Coast on Monday rejected charges by rights groups that child slaves help produce its cocoa and said Valentine's Day consumers could eat Ivorian chocolate with a clear conscience.

The West African nation, racked by conflict and unrest since a brief 2002 civil war, has come under increasing scrutiny from human rights and consumer groups who are campaigning for boycotts of foodstuffs tainted by violence, abuse or dangerous chemicals.

Angry workers have downed tools at Liberia’s largest rubber plantation, owned by Bridgestone/Firestone, saying that wages are so low that children as young as seven years old are being forced to help their parents meet production quotas.

Staff at the million-acre plantation told IRIN that 6,000 workers had stopped work since Monday to demand improved living conditions and wages. The strikers comprised 4,000 casual workers who score the rubber trees’ bark to tap them of their latex sap, and 2,000 administrative and domestic staff.

By Tess Kalinowski

School board allies with workers group

Can monitor where uniforms are made

The Toronto Catholic school board has decided to put some teeth into a new policy requiring its uniform suppliers to guarantee that their garments aren't made in sweatshops.

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Reported By Jeanne Baron

Maine has been a leader in demanding that foreign manufacturers meet fair labor standards, and now it's looking to pioneer legislation to enforce those standards. Story also features Damarys Mesa and Florie Arevalo that are Wal-Mart sweatshop workers.