
Issue No 69		01 September 2000

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News

Olympics Deal Sparks Soccer Ball Victory

By Peter Lewis

An agreement between Sydney Olympic organisers and the NSW Labor Council and ACTU has been the catalyst for an historic victory in the push to halt the use of child labour in the production of soccer balls.

Early in August, a trade union was for the first time registered in the Sialkot region of Pakistan where the majority of the world's soccer balls are produced for international labels such as Nike and Reebok.

Wages in the region are so low that entire families are forced to work, including children. The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) has been campaigning to end child labour and secure trade unions the right to organise in Sialkot since 1996.

And while soccer's governing body, FIFA, had agreed to force producers to address child labour issues, employers were resisting FIFA's call for union organising and bargaining rights.

That was until the SOCOG deal, struck with the NSW Labor Council and the ACTU, which guarantees that equipment licensed by SOCOG for the Games will be made by workers who have the right to organise.

ICFTU internal campaigns coordinator Tim Noonan says the SOCOG agreement helped to break through employer resistance to the international unions' agreement with FIFA.

This means that the 7,000 soccer ball workers in Pakistan have access to trade union representation for the first time, a major step in the campaign.

"This is an example of how action by trade unions in the developed world have led to concrete results for workers in less developed nations," Noonan says.

"The SOCOG deal showed that global union action can and does bring real results for low-paid and exploited workers around the world."

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Issue 69 contents

Interview: Global Warrior
International unions have won a game of political football with soccer`s hierarchy - and Aussie Tim Noonan is behind the victory.

History: King of Broken Hill
John Shields recounts the colourful life of William Sydney 'Shorty' O'Neil (1903-2000) and his place in the rich history of a remarkable town.

International: History Repeats At Firestone
More than 8,000 workers, members of the United Steelworkers of America (USWA), are set to strike at nine Bridgestone/Firestone plants in the United States at midnight tonight.

Politics: The Past We Need To Understand
In his Vincent Lingiari Memorial Lecture Malcolm Fraser retraces the path of Australian race relations and laments the terrible impasse we've reached.

Unions: Economic Democracy
Sharan Burrow on making Working Australia's money talk and reforming corporate culture for the 21st Century.

Satire: Another windscreen washer joins millionaire list
SYDNEY, Monday: After just a year in his new job, John Samuels has added his name to the burgeoning list of enterprising Australians who have made their fortunes by offering partial car-washing facilities in convenient inner city road-side locations.

Review: No Long Term
Much political commentary is about the global marketplace and the use of new technologies as hallmarks of the new capitalism. Richard Sennett investigates another dimension of change: new ways of organising time, particularly working time.

» New Benchmark In Bank Greed

» Olympics Deal Sparks Soccer Ball Victory

» Two Day Strike Hits BHP Mines

» Leightons, SOCOG Tremble Before Haka

» Hilton Hotels Limp As Strike Bites

» Wran Lends Boffins A Hand

» ACTU Meets Joy

» Barracks Workers Put The Pinch On Local MP

» Olympic Win For Taxi Drivers

» Australian Unions Keep Spotlight on Fiji

» Staff Eye Telstra Prize

» Dice Loaded Against American Workers

» NZ Union Federations Heal Split

» Pressure Mounts On Nike To Live Olympic Ideal