BALL MAKERS TEAM UP TO FIGHT CHILD LABOR.Byline: Paul Newberry Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency. Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. Nike, Reebok Ree´bok` n. 1. (Zool.) The peele. and several other sporting goods Noun 1. sporting goods - sports equipment sold as a commodity commodity, trade good, good - articles of commerce sports equipment - equipment needed to participate in a particular sport giants announced a campaign Friday to stop the production of soccer balls by Pakistani children who work 10 hours a day stitching them together for pennies. Some of these same sporting goods companies have themselves been criticized over conditions of foreign workers foreign workers Those who work in a foreign country without initially intending to settle there and without the benefits of citizenship in the host country. Some are recruited to supplement the workforce of a host country for a limited term or to provide skills on a who produce their celebrity-endorsed shoes and apparel. The World Federation of the Sports Goods Industry and the American-based Sporting Goods Manufacturing Association pledged that major ball makers will buy soccer balls produced in Pakistan only if they are not made by children. The project aims to phase in the reforms over 18 months and enforce them by independent monitors. It also hopes to provide educational services to youngsters who are thrown out of work. Seventy-five percent of the world's $1 billion soccer ball industry is in Pakistan. Child welfare organizations estimate that 7,000 to 10,000 Pakistani children under 14 stitch balls in homes and small shops, receiving little pay for working up to 10 hours a day. Concern over child labor child labor, use of the young as workers in factories, farms, and mines. Child labor was first recognized as a social problem with the introduction of the factory system in late 18th-century Great Britain. mounted after a spate of bad publicity revealed the conditions of foreign workers who produce products for American consumers. Celebrities such as Kathie Lee Gifford and Michael Jordan This article is about the former basketball player. For other uses, see Michael Jordan (disambiguation). Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17 1963) is a retired American professional basketball player. have been drawn into the controversy. Nike has been singled out by human rights groups that have accused the show company of mistreating workers at its plants in Southeast Asia. The company has denied the allegations and taken steps to combat child labor, including plans to build 15 ``stitching centers'' over the next three years to ensure that no children are involved in making balls. North American North American named after North America. North American blastomycosis see North American blastomycosis. North American cattle tick see boophilusannulatus. and European soccer enthusiasts have been concerned since 1995 over reports that soccer balls were made by children. Last year, the U.S. government began a campaign to discourage Americans from buying child-made balls, and the Federation Internationale de Football Association said it would not endorse soccer balls made by children. Reebok Chairman Paul Fireman challenged FIFA FIFA International Association Football Federation [French Fédération Internationale de Football Association] FIFA n abbr (= Fédération Internationale de Football Association) → FIFA f , which governs the World Cup and other major international competitions, to go a step further and prohibit any balls from being used in competition unless they are manufactured by companies in the program. FIFA spokesman Keith Cooper said Fireman was simplifying the problem facing the world's most popular sport, with some 200 million registered players around the world. ``You have to be realistic,'' he said. ``To have 100 percent total assurance that a ball is not being made by child labor is logistically impossible. We can't possibly control every last ball manufacturer.'' CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: Juan Manuel Gonzalez of Baden, front, and Matthew Wolfe of Nike hold soccer balls as they listen to a panel Friday in Atlanta. Associated Press |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion