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Archived News Release--Caution:
information may be out of date.
For more information call: (202) 219-6373 X 164 (office)
The Department of Labor (DOL) announced today it will fund a coordinated
international project to eliminate child labor in the soccer ball manufacturing
industry. The joint effort will include U.S. manufacturers, the International
Labor Organization (ILO), UNICEF and the Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and
Industry of Pakistan.
The Sialkot district in Pakistan accounts for almost 75% of the
hand-stitched soccer balls in the world and, according to an ILO study,
thousands of children work in the industry.
In making the announcement, acting Deputy Under Secretary for
International Affairs Andrew Samet said, "This effort is the result of the
priority the Labor Department placed on the soccer ball industry child labor
problem last June. We are encouraged by the progress. Moreover, we are hopeful
the effort will be fully and effectively implemented."
At a news conference last June, former Secretary Robert B. Reich
resolved that before the decade was over there would be no children stitching
soccer balls rather than getting an education. Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), Rep.
George Miller (D-Cal), Rep. Christopher Smith (R-NJ), Rep. Joseph Kennedy II
(D-Mass) and Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass) joined Reich in the June effort. Today
acting Secretary Cynthia A. Metzler observed, "We have taken an important step
in making that resolution a reality."
Also in June last year, DOL offered to provide funding through the ILO's
International Program for the Elimination of Child Labor (IPEC), if the
industry was ready to respond.
The project will remove children from the soccer ball industry in
Sialkot and provide them with educational opportunities. The goal is to have
all the children out of the business in 18 months. The Labor Department will
commit $500,000 to the effort over the next two years. The funds, appropriated
by Congress, are part of the department's ongoing support for IPEC. In
addition, local manufacturers in Pakistan will provide approximately $360,000
to cover independent monitors, the Soccer Industry Council of America will
contribute $100,000 and UNICEF will add $200,000.
The project will phase children out of the soccer ball industry in
Pakistan, give them opportunities at education and establish both internal and
independent monitoring to keep children out of the industry.
Samet heads up the Bureau of International Labor Affairs, which directs
the department's international child labor activities. He said that many
organizations, businesses and individual consumers made their positions on the
issue known to the department last year at a public hearing on international
child labor or in written statements submitted to the department. It is
particularly important to note that American companies helped lead this effort.
Samet pointed out, "Reebok and Nike responded early to the challenge and have
provided significant leadership in addressing the issue."
The Sialkot project is the sixth program the Labor Department is helping
to fund through IPEC. Other projects have been initiated in Bangladesh,
Thailand, Africa, Brazil and the Philippines.
Archived News Release--Caution:
information may be out of date.
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