As the Olympics in China begin it has been revealed in a report by the campaign group Playfair 08 that much of the merchandise for the games has been produced in factories with disgraceful levels of pay and unacceptable working conditions. These factories in China make official Olympic bags, headgear, stationery and other products, and are alleged to have been falsifying employment records and forcing workers to lie about their wages and conditions.

While it is too late to demand assurances from the organisers of this years’ Olympic Games on their ethical credentials, it is all the more important that we make sure the London Organising Committee of the 2012 Olympic Game are operating under proper ethical standards. This includes making sure that all licensees and suppliers of Olympic goods are under contractual obligation to reinforce proper labour practices and that independent scrutiny is exercised to make sure all companies comply with the Ethical Trading Initiative.

SDLP Youth will be writing to all Northern Ireland’s MPs to request their support for this campaign and their signatures on the Early Day Motion in Parliament demanding ethical trading at the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. It is important that our elected representatives make it clear to the Olympic organisers that all who work to make the 2012 Games a success should have the right to decent work, living wages and proper conditions.  Already SDLP Youth Limavady Branch has committed East Derry MP Gregory Campbell to sign Early Day Motion 1309 when Parliament reconvenes.

Trade unions have tabled 130 amendments to the Labour Party’s national policy forum designed to demand a change of direction from Gordon Brown’s beleaguered government. Welcoming a proposal to extend the full minimum wage to younger workers, SDLP Youth spokesman Liam McNulty said:

“The minimum wage varies according to age so a 17 year-old doing the same work as someone 2 or 3 years older than them earns substantially less per hour than their older colleague. We believe that this undervalues the contribution young people make to the workplace and means that in a time of rising prices it is increasingly difficult for many young people to make ends meet. Extending the full minimum wage to young workers would also create a greater incentive for young people to find work.”

“The principle of equal pay for equal work is one which we hold dear. The public would not accept a wage system that discriminates on the basis of gender or ethnicity so there should not be such tolerance for one that discriminates against young people. “

“Unfortunately this matter is still reserved by the British Treasury until the Assembly is devolved the tax-raising powers it needs to function as a proper parliament but we hope that Gordon Brown listens to these proposals and shows leadership on this issue. It is clear that his current right-wing strategy is not working so a new centre-left direction would be much welcomed by all in the youth movement. It is clear that something must be done to protect the most vulnerable in this time of economic turbulence and extending the full minimum wage would be a welcome first step.”

SDLP Leader and Foyle MP Mark Durkan has signed a Parliamentary motion congratulating The Independent newspaper for launching its Fair Tips, Fair Pay campaign which aims to put an end to the situation in the hospitality industry where service charges, tips and gratuities are used to pay staff wages.

Mr Durkan said:

“I would like to congratulate The Independent newspaper for launching its Fair Tips, Fair Pay campaign which I will be supporting alongside other MPs and trade unions.

“The regulations under the National Minimum Wage Act 1998 legally allows for service charges, tips and gratuities to be used to pay staff wages.

“Therefore, I will be calling on the government to introduce amendments to the appropriate statutes to ensure that all tips and gratuities are paid to staff in addition to (at least) the hourly minimum wage rate.”

SDLP Youth today called on the Minister of Education Catriona Ruane to put in place new measures that will help struggling young teachers gain the vital experience needed to get jobs they badly need.

Speaking in response to the recent Assembly report which revealed that nearly 2,000 retired teachers have been re-employed as substitute teachers in the past academic year SDLP Youth University and Colleges Officer Malachy Quinn said “With so many young teachers out of full time work because they lack the proper teaching experience, I think it’s unacceptable that such a high number of retired teachers, of which over 1,500 have accepted redundancies, are getting jobs over young qualified teachers. I have nothing against retired teachers but with so few teaching jobs available it is getting near impossible for our young teachers to gain the experience they need in order to get full time positions in our schools. If we keep re-employing retired teachers over our new graduates how can we expect them to gain vital experience needed in a classroom if they are unable to get into one!”

“SDLP Youth call on the Minister of Education to look at different methods of employment to ensure that our young teachers gain the teaching experience they need in order to get a full time job. In Scotland new graduates are offered the guarantee of a year in work and I think that the Department of Education must look at different methods like this in order for our young teachers here to get ahead in the world of teaching, which means getting the experience they need.”

The SDLP Youth’s Liam McNulty has welcomed Tesco’s decision to discontinue the use of Uzbek cotton in their products.

“The Uzbek cotton industry is notorious for its use of forced child labour and we echo the comments of the Environmental Justice Foundation in calling the boycott of the cotton a ‘breakthrough decision’.

“Of equal importance is the decision by the company to implement a system of checks on the sources of the materials used in their products. It is clear that if Tesco can do this then it is also possible for other companies to follow suit. This means simply that ignorance is no longer an excuse. We would call on other retailers such as ASDA, Matalan, Burtons and Top Man to follow Tesco’s example.

“Ethical trading is a matter of great importance and SDLP Youth has recently launched a ‘Think Before You Buy’ campaign to raise awareness of the issue. Our members are also involved in the Clean Clothes Campaign, supporting garment workers’ rights around the globe.”

SDLP Youth Chairman Gary McKeown has welcomed a move by Gap Clothing to remove from a sale a product which was made using child labour, but has criticised the fact that the incident could have been allowed to happen.

Mr McKeown said: “It is certainly a positive move by Gap to stop selling a product which it has been shown was made using child labour in India. However, this situation should never have been allowed to come about in the first place. It is extremely important that western retailers ensure that the goods that they are selling are ethically produced.

“We wouldn’t let children make clothes instead of going to school in Europe, so we shouldn’t stand by and let it happen elsewhere in the world, especially when the clothes we are wearing could have been made in this way.

“It is repulsive to think that major corporations could be lining their pockets through the misery of children in the developing world.”

Mr McKeown concluded: “SDLP Youth is currently running its ‘Think Before You Buy’ campaign which is urging shoppers to make sure that the clothes they are buying are not made through slave or child labour. Incidents like this prove how important it is to keep the focus on retailers to make sure that they are not exploiting people less fortunate than ourselves.”

ENDS

SDLP Youth has welcomed today’s rise in the minimum wage, but has criticised the British government for the stratified system involved in its implementation.

SDLP Youth Chairman Gary McKeown said: “The minimum wage is necessary to ensure that the lowest paid workers are protected from exploitation, and today’s rise is to be welcomed. However, we cannot escape the fact that the minimum wage laws designed to protect the most vulnerable workers are also some of the most discriminatory.

“The law states that people under the age of 22 can be paid less for doing the exact same job as someone over that age. For example, in a shop that pays its staff the minimum wage, a 17 year-old will get paid over £2 less per hour than someone over 22 for doing the same work.

“This is the worst form of discrimination- society wouldn’t accept a law if it allowed people to be paid less because of their gender or race, so the same indignation must be displayed at discrimination based on age.

“The British government claims to be committed to equality, and indeed introduced legislation to prevent discrimination on the basis of age, yet its own minimum wage laws produce some of the most discriminatory practices possible.

Mr McKeown concluded: “SDLP Youth is calling for a universal minimum wage for workers, regardless of their age.

“As far as we are concerned, equal work must mean equal pay.”

ENDS

New Minimum Wages:

16- 17 Year Olds- £3.40

18-21 Year Olds- £4.60

Over 22s- £5.52

SDLP Youth has called for European retailers to ensure that Asian garment workers are given stronger rights. This comes as workers in Bangladesh who produce clothes for the western market protest to demand better conditions and pay.

SDLP Youth Chairman Gary McKeown said: “It is easy for people on this side of the world to turn a blind eye and pretend that this has nothing to do with us, but the fact is that it is our demand for cheap clothing that is keeping these workers’ wages so unbelievably low. Big business cannot be allowed to use this consumer appetite for cheap products as an excuse to absolve itself of its responsibilities to the people who toil to make these goods.

“Women in Bangladesh making clothes for major supermarkets sometimes earn as little as 5p an hour, working up to 14 hours a day. Demands by some retailers that suppliers cut prices are one reason why the women’s wages are so low they cannot afford to feed themselves and their families properly.”

He added: “SDLP Youth has recently launched its ‘Think Before You Buy’ campaign to let shoppers know about the plight of these foreign workers. We understand the need for families here to have access to reasonably priced clothing, especially when it comes to buying school uniforms, but with supermarkets and clothing retailers making record profits, we don’t think that this should be at the expense of the basic rights of foreign workers.

“SDLP Youth is calling on retailers to recognise the fundamental rights of workers in countries such as Bangladesh, and to avoid passing the financial burden of upholding these rights onto consumers. If companies cannot trade ethically and fairly without ripping off consumers, then they shouldn’t be in business.

“The best way for shoppers to send a clear signal to retailers who refuse to protect the rights of foreign workers is to boycott their products.”

ENDS

British government plans to set different minimum wages for each region of the UK have been slammed by SDLP Youth as a move that “stinks of discrimination.”

An SDLP Youth spokesperson said: “These plans are completely immoral. The British government is proposing to boost Londoners’ minimum wage to £6.80, while simultaneously slashing the Northern Ireland minimum wage to £4.80. This is basically sending out the message that Londoners doing the same job as people from here are effectively worth two extra pounds per hour. This is totally unacceptable and stinks of discrimination.

“To cut our already tiny minimum wage levels would effectively result in bonded labour masquerading as fair employment.

“If the government were proposing to pay differing minimum wages to people based on their race, gender or religion, there would be an outcry, so the same anger must be displayed at the idea of paying people differently depending on where they live in the UK.”

He added: “It is already bad enough that the British government discriminates against young workers by paying them a lower minimum wage than older workers- these new plans merely rub salt in the wounds. As far as we are concerned, equal work must mean equal pay- that it the every essence of equality.

“I don’t know where the British government has been for the past few years, but living in Northern Ireland isn’t exactly cheap these days. Young people at the lower end of the payscale already find it practically impossible to get on the housing ladder, but moves to drop the minimum wage below its already ridiculously low level would destroy any small chance for these people to buy a house.”

“SDLP Youth is calling for a universal minimum wage, regardless of age or location. The basis for this should be a £6 minimum wage, reviewed regularly to ensure it rises with inflation.”

SDLP Youth members have participated in a number of events to mark Mayday, a celebration of workers rights and the labour movement throughout the world.

Many youth, senior party and elected members joined the Mayday March Against Racism through Belfast city centre, walking under union banners accompanied by brass, pipe and samba bands. Thousands of activists left from the Art College, making their way through a warm reception on the streets of the city centre and finishing up at St George’s Market for a carnival to celebrate diversity.

On Monday 8th May Cllr Tim Attwood and SDLP Youth Vice Chair Claire Hanna joined trade unionists and supporters at the unveiling of a specially commissioned statue of James Larkin outside Carlin House, the head quarters of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions in Belfast. Founder of the ITGWU, Larkin was honoured for his efforts to organise Belfast dockers and for his success in uniting catholic and protestant workers.

Last month SDLP Youth lent strong support to the Liberty Project, organised to celebrate the role of the labour movement in Irish history. The SDLP Liberty event discussed the role of the Labour Movement in National Reconciliation and heard from renowned historian Eamon Phoenix, Sean Farren MLA, and Labour TD Joan Burton. Members also took part in an alternative walking tour in Dublin organised by our sister party Labour Youth.

After the events SDLP Youth and ICTU committee member Claire Hanna urged all young people to get active in a Union at work or in education. “Trade unionism provides a real opportunity to unite people from across the community to tackle discrimination and exploitation in the workplace. As highlighted by this years march in Belfast, trade unionists come from all walks of life and can work together to mount a serious challenge to racism in our society. This is the movement that has brought us the weekend, the minimum wage, and many other protections for all kinds of worker and by joining them young people can raise concerns with increased voice and strength.”

For more information on how or why to join a union, contact SDLP Youth.