If you live in Manchester, you may have noticed clocks on buildings counting
down the days to the opening of the Commonwealth Games. Now the Games have
started, the clocks have ground to a halt, but the No Sweat clock is still
ticking.

We have:

- Two days to the rally with speakers from No Sweat, Women Working World
wide / Labour Behind The Label, TGWU airport security workers, the student
movement and the video 'The face of decent work'.

- Four and a half days to the march through Manchester.

- Five days to the benefit to raise money for the Indonesian trade union
FNPBI to replace the tainted $55,000 'Human Rights Award' offered to its
leader Dita Sari by Reebok.

Join us in demonstrating our opposition to sweatshops in sport and in
raising money to support Indonesian trade unionists. Details of the events
can be found at the end of this email.

If you need any further convincing of the need to take a stand against the
sweatshops, we have found evidence linking Games' sponsors, the suppliers of
official merchandise and the providers of sportswear to athletes with
sweatshops in countries such as China, Indonesia, Morocco and El Salvador.

Nearer to home, Asda, a major sponsor of the Games, is offering jobs to
Commonwealth Games volunteers at the new store opposite the Games stadium.
Walmart, Asda's parent company has been described by their ex-employees in
the US as 'like a cult' and in 2000 was forced to pay $50 million to settle
charges that 69,000 workers were forced to work unpaid overtime. Trade
unions at the new Asda store are not allowed to meet employees until they
have been in place for six months, undermining any potential for collective
labour organising.

The full briefing can be found at:
 http://www.nosweat.org.uk/article.php?sid=220&mode=thread&order=0

DETAILS OF THE EVENTS

Wednesday 31st July, 7.30

Rally Against Sweatshops
Friends Meeting House, Mount Street, Manchester

* * * *

Saturday 3rd August, 11.30

Sport Without Sweatshops Demonstration
Assembling at All Saints Park, Oxford Road
For march to Manchester City Centre and rally.

* * * *

Saturday 3rd August, 8.00pm – 2.00pm

Benefit
to raise funds for Indonesian Union FNPBI
Manchester Metropolitan University Student Union
99 Oxford Road, Manchester

Music from Rainstone
Comedy from Chloe Poems
Solo performance Becca

£5/£3 concessions (all draught beers £1)

* * * *
Exhibition: ‘The Labour Behind The Label’
at Friends Meeting House, Mount Street, Manchester
throughout the course of the Games

Further information from:

No Sweat Manchester
Email: mailto: manchester@nosweat.org.uk
Phone: 07951 741640