Use of child labor in making Olympic merchandise investigated

The Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (BOCOG) are investigating four companies accused of using child labor to manufacture official Olympic merchandise.

Chen Feng, marketing director of BOCOG, said at a press conference yesterday that he will meet with the four southern China-based companies.

A report by PlayFair 2008, an alliance of global trade unions and labor groups, released last Sunday accused four companies of violating Chinese and international labor laws by hiring children as young as 12, and imposing illegal conditions such as 12-hour days, forced overtime and below minimum wage, a China Daily Report said.

Chen said that the contracts of the four companies will be terminated and the firms fined if the accusations are proven true. He reiterated that BOCOG officials emphasize corporate responsibility, environmental protection and quality control. He also said that they will conduct spot checks based on complaints received by the organization.