WASHINGTON - As excitement grows for the
upcoming FIFA
World Cup beginning shortly in South
Africa, there is a part of the World Cup
that many sports fans will not see.  The workers stitching soccer balls
in
Pakistan, India, China
and Thailand
continue to experience alarming labor rights violations even 13 years
after the
soccer ball industry signed the "Atlanta Agreement" committing to
clean up the industry. The
International
Labor Rights Forum (ILRF) released a new report titled "Missed
the Goal for Workers: the Reality of Soccer Ball Stitchers in
Pakistan, India,
China and Thailand" today. 
The research found that the decade-long effort by governments,
companies, and
other stakeholders to eliminate child labor in this industry has seen
only
limited success. Child labor still exists in soccer ball production in
India and Pakistan.

"Even after all of these
years, low wages and a
dangerous working environment in the industry remain almost entirely
unaddressed," reports Bama Athreya, Executive Director of the International
Labor Rights
Forum.  "It's time for buyers, factories and
industry associations such as FIFA to take responsibility for continued
labor
rights violations in the production of soccer balls."

The report highlights that:

• More than half of the 218
  surveyed
  workers in Pakistan
  reported that they did not make the legal minimum wage per month.
• In one Pakistani
  manufacturer, ILRF
  researchers found that all interviewed stitching center or home based
  workers
  were temporarily employed resulting workers not having access to
  healthcare or
  social security.
• In the same Pakistani
  manufacturer's supply chain, female home-based workers faced
  discrimination based on their gender. They were paid the least and faced
  the
  possibility of losing their jobs permanently due to pregnancy.
• In one Chinese factory,
  workers were
  found to work up to 21 hours a day during high seasons and without one
  day off
  in an entire month.
• Indian stitching centers
  were
  described as "pathetic." Proper drinking water or medical care
  facilities, and even toilets were often absent.
• Child labor was identified
  by
  workers producing for three different factories in Pakistan.

ILRF is calling on the
soccer ball
industry to take immediate action to address the issues of extremely low
wages
and proliferation of temporary workers to improve conditions for the
workers
who produce the balls at the center of the 2010 World Cup.

The report will be
available on June
7, 2010 at: http://www.laborrights.org/stop-child-forced-labor/foulball-campaign/resources/12331.