07 Jun 2010
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Workers stitching Soccer Balls are working under Appalling Conditions. Find out more about the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Workers and the World Cup and more on Mywage South Africa.
Workers in Pakistan, India, China and Thailand have been forced to work long hours for very low pay in unpleasant conditions, stitching soccer balls.
Some workers have had to work for 21 hours a day without a day off for an entire month, others work in venues where there is not enough proper drinking water, no medical care facilities and not even toilets. Gender discrimination is a further problem, with home-based females paid less and facing the threat of being fired if they become pregnant.
These and other findings have been released in a report titled report “Missed the Goal for Workers: the Reality of Soccer Ball Stitchers”, by US-based NGO International Labor Rights Forum (ILRF). The report reveals that workers stitching soccer balls in Pakistan, India, China and Thailand continue to experience alarming labour rights violations. The research also found that child labour still exists in the Pakistani industry as well as in India and China.
- Read more about the exploited Soccer Ball Stitchers.