"Sweatshop Follow Up": Adidas Refused To Admit It

With the approaching of London 2012 Olympic Games, all major sports brands are excited by this wonderful sales opportunity. However, in the cheer of a money advertisement, the gloomy side of the world sports brand giant has begun to attract people's attention.

Recently, Adidas has plunged into the pressure of "sweatshops".

According to reports, Adidas group company

Only pay 10 pounds (US $15) a week to the Kampuchea garment factory workers who produce London Olympic licensed goods. According to the recent foreign exchange rate, it is close to RMB 100 yuan.

Adidas's "two sides"

"One side is sponsoring, the other is pressing employees."

In July 16th, the world manager website shouted on its official micro-blog: one of the biggest sponsors of the London Olympic Games, sports brand giant Adidas group, while doing charity, squeezed employees.

Companies are doing this now?

The four year Olympic Games will be held in London, England in July 28th.

Adidas, one of the biggest sponsors of the Olympic Games, has made trouble at this juncture.

According to the report, Adidas's workers in the garment processing plant in the capital of Phnom Penh, Kampuchea, need to work 10 hours a day, 6 days a week, and the average weekly wage of workers is 15 dollars.

A London organising committee spokesman told foreign media that the OCOG attached great importance to the allegation and would investigate the matter.

It is reported that Adidas has now invested 100 million pounds to the Olympic Games.

The London Olympic Organizing Committee has signed an agreement with Olympic merchandise manufacturers that Olympic sponsors must provide enough basic living wage for workers.

The labor union behind the trademark said Adidas's wages to Kampuchea workers violated this agreement.

Refuse to admit mistakes

Adidas does not seem to want to admit that it is wrong about public opinion.

For the accusation, Adidas group spokesman admitted that "there are indeed factories in Kampuchea to produce London Olympic licensed products, but Adidas did not violate its agreement with the London Olympic Organizing Committee."

The spokesman said, "the average wage of garment factory employees is 130 dollars per month, which is much higher than the minimum wage stipulated by Kampuchea."

Regarding this, Anna MacMullen, a spokesman for the "labor union behind the trademark" of the humanitarian organization, pointed out that although the minimum wage for workers in the Kampuchea law is $66 per month, the minimum wage for a Kampuchea family with two children should be $260 per month.

Li Cheng, a lawyer from Beijing TAFE law firm, told reporters that from a legal point of view, it is necessary to confirm whether Adidas's behavior in Kampuchea is in line with the local labor law.

Adidas's processing plant for the production of London Olympic licensed products in Kampuchea is known as "sweatshop". Su Hainan, vice president of the China Labour Association and chairman of the remuneration Specialized Committee, believes that this is a continuation of capital society law.

As for Adidas's "sweatshop" phenomenon in Kampuchea, Li Cheng lawyers believe that part of the reason is that local workers are not very aware of the law.

In addition, Li Cheng added that enterprises like developed countries such as the United States and Germany will find products processing plants in developing countries, and use local cheap labor force to maximize profits.