In the News

Wal-Mart Wins Ruling on Foreign Labor

The New York Times
12/19/2006

Wal-Mart Stores cannot be held liable under United States law for labor conditions at some of its overseas suppliers, a federal judge has ruled.

A complaint filed last year in Los Angeles by the International Labor Rights Fund contended that employees of Wal-Mart suppliers in China, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Swaziland and Nicaragua were forced to work overtime without pay and in some cases were fired because they tried to organize unions. The group sought to represent hundreds of thousands of employees of Wal-Mart’s overseas suppliers...

Steamed Over Sweatshops; Our probe of Chinese working conditions unleashes fury -- and ideas for reform

Business News
12/18/2006

Many major American retail chains and brand-name manufacturers have
answered criticism that they exploit "sweatshop" labor by adopting codes
of conduct and on-site monitoring of their Chinese suppliers. But a
BusinessWeek investigation found that in China, many factories have just
improved their skill at concealing abuses. Our Nov. 27 Cover Story,
"Secrets, Lies, and Sweatshops," revealed that numerous Chinese
factories keep fake books to fool outside inspectors and distribute

U.S. ignores abuse of Chinese workers

Buffalo News
12/18/2006

Excerpt from article:

 
When I asked Fisher-Price Toys, owned by Mattel, about a recent riot at a Chinese plant where Mattel toys are made, Fisher-Price shunted that and other questions to Mattel headquarters.

Mattel responded with an e-mail listing a number of purportedly do-good organizations it joined or helped found in countries like China.  

Included in the list are Business for Social Responsibility, Governance Metrics International, FTSE4Good and Domini 400 Socially Responsible Investment.

The real price of cheap clothes: Bangladeshi sweatshop labourers paid just 3p an hour

Independent (UK)
12/08/2006

Bangladeshis making cheap clothes for Asda, Tesco and Primark are paid as little as 3p an hour, according to a report that claims to reveal the grim truth about Asia's sweatshops.

Basic pay in factories that cut and sew fabric for budget chains could be just £8 a month for an 80-hour week, investigation for the charity War on Want found.

Groups Faults China's Wal-Mart Suppliers

Associated Press
12/08/2006

Excerpt from article:

Several Chinese suppliers of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. fail to pay legally required wages or provide health insurance and allow poor working conditions, a New York-based labor group says.

A Wal-Mart spokesman said Friday it was looking into the claims in a  report issued this week by China Labor Watch. Managers at two  companies cited in the report denied the accusations.

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