Pelosi: China Olympic Merchandise Labor Abuses Must End

June 11, 2007

Washington, D.C. - Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today on the report, 'No Medal for the Olympics on Labour Rights,' issued by PlayFair 2008, documenting violations of basic international labor standards by several factories in China that supply official 2008 Beijing Olympic Games merchandise:

'The information contained in the PlayFair 2008 report is serious and warrants a thorough investigation by the Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee and the International Olympic Committee. The allegations of hazardous working conditions, the use of child labor, and forced overtime will cast a shadow over the 2008 Olympic games unless action is taken to end any exploitation of Chinese workers who are producing official Olympic merchandise.

'The Olympic Charter calls for 'respect for universal fundamental ethical principles.' It is my hope that the organizers of the 2008 Olympics and the corporations cited in the report will end any practices that are inconsistent with international labor rights standards and the Olympic ideals.'

The text of the report can be found at: http://www.ituc-csi.org/IMG/pdf/playfair_2008.pdf.