Module 5

Forced labour claims dent image of London 2012


Sunday 06 May 2012
Official Olympic clothing sold by Next is claimed to have been produced in ________ conditions in Sri Lanka. The allegation comes days after the ________ chain unveiled the formal outfits that Team GB will wear at the opening ceremony.
Workers at the company's ________ in Sri Lanka allegedly receive poverty wages and are ________ to work excessive overtime and to meet unrealistic, ever-increasing targets. Next denies the claims – which undermine pledges that the 2012 Games will be the most ethical yet – but has launched an investigation into conditions at the factory.
The claims emerged in a wider ________ into Olympic brands that found "widespread ________ of the human rights of workers" in eight factories around the world. Research by the Playfair 2012 campaign also cited allegations of mistreatment of staff working for the sportswear manufacturer Adidas in the Philippines and China.
Next's Sri Lanka factory employs 2,500 people making, among other items, London 2012-branded jackets, blazers, shorts and T-shirts. ________ claim they are routinely forced to work 60 hours of ________ a month.
Staff also claim they have no contracts and frequently face being laid off with no notice, with management threatening to sack them if they join a ________. Workers who have protested were victimised, researchers found. Typical wages for working 12-hour days were found to be about 12,000 Sri Lankan rupees a month (£58). Other abuses cited included agency staff made to work for 18 hours at a stretch
A spokesman for Next rebutted the Playfair allegations. Next insisted they were "categorically not true" in the case of staff workers at the factory and "almost certainly not true in respect of any temporary worker, either". Next said those employed directly by the company were paid 50 per cent more than the Sri Lankan ________, which stands at 6,750 rupees (£33) a month.

A sweatshop is

Which high-street chain is at the centre of the current allegations?

What sports brand in this article produces its sportswear in the Philippines and China?

Workers are sometimes forced to work _____ hours without a break

Globalisation: Outsourcing

The background to the video clip is that many companies are outsourcing or sub-contracting customer support to call centres in India and the Philippines.  American and European customers call a local number and are then automatically transferred to a customer service agent in Asia.  The BBC reporter reports on this phenomenon.


The number of call centre workers employed in the Philippines is: