MSN-authored report challenges sportswear companies to meet targets by next Olympiad

As the clock ticks down to the Beijing Olympics, international sportswear companies are amassing huge profits and arranging multi-million dollar sponsorship deals with the Games, Olympic athletes and national teams.

Meanwhile, workers producing their goods are still living in poverty. In a new report, “Clearing the Hurdles: Steps to improving working conditions in the global sportswear industry”, Play Fair 2008 calls upon brands, manufacturers, and multi-stakeholder initiatives to overcome four major hurdles to make real, measurable progress on wages and working conditions in the global sportswear industry.

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Electronic relay spreads message over mobile networks, internet

While the official 2008 Olympic torch relay ducks to evade the scrutiny of human rights activists, an alternative human rights Olympic torch relay is set to journey across Canada en route to Beijing.

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Toronto- For years, students have been asking questions about where and under what conditions their school uniforms are being made. A new report on a factory investigation conducted by the Worker Rights Consortium (WRC) for Catholic School Boards in Ontario confirms their worst fears.

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An October 18 letter from three major US brands addressed to senior management of the Mexican blue jean manufacturer, Grupo Navarra, verifies worker allegations that the company has been harassing, dismissing and forcing them to sign resignation letters for attempting to form an independent union.

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Canadian church, human rights and trade union organizations, including MSN, are calling on Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to launch an independent investigation into recent armed attacks and death threats against striking workers at the Chong Won Fashion garment factory.

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A new report released today by the PlayFair 2008 Campaign exposes gross violations of workers’ rights by several Chinese factories supplying goods under license for the Beijing Olympics, including employment of children, adults being paid half the legal minimum wage, and employees forced to work 12-hour shifts, seven days a week, in unsafe and unhealthy conditions.

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TORONTO - The Maquila Solidarity Network (MSN), an international labour and women's rights organization based in Toronto, today responded to the release of Nike's 2006 Corporate Responsibility Report.

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Levi Strauss drops from first to fifth place in ethical ranking after refusing to commit to living wage

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Companies opening up on labour standards but tackling labour rights abuses requires more worker involvement

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