[news] City of Vancouver Uniforms Made in Burma

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-----Forwarded Message-----
From: Tom Sandborn <tos at infinet.net>
Date: 29 Jul 2003 00:25:41 -0700

WHY DO VANCOUVER FIREFIGHTERS 

HAVE TO WEAR PARKAS "MADE IN BURMA"?

VANCOUVER - The Vancouver and District Labour Council revealed today that parkas purchased by the Vancouver Fire Department (and which firefighters are required to wear as part of their winter uniform) were supplied by a Montreal company which purchased them from a manufacturer in Burma.

"The City of Vancouver should not be spending public tax dollars in sweatshops," says Labour Council President Bill Saunders. "It's time for the City of Vancouver to adopt effective procedures to prevent this kind of thing from happening in the future."

The Vancouver and District Labour Council is part of a coalition of local labour, community, student, and international development organizations called the BC Ethical Purchasing Group.

The Ethical Purchasing Group has been lobbying local municipalities and universities to adopt a "NO SWEAT" purchasing policy in order to prevent inadvertent purchases of goods from factories or countries using forced labour, child labour, or committing other violations of human rights in the manufacture of their goods.

The Burmese military government has been implicated in the use of forced labour since a military coup deposed the democratically-elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi who is currently being held under house arrest in Burma.

The current military government in Burma has banned all labour unions and student organizations in Burma and has been accused of widespread violations of human rights, including forced conscription and slave labour.

In 2000, the United Nations' International Labour Organization called on all governments to review their relations with Burma in light of the country's system of forced labour.

The Canadian Government has asked companies to voluntarily refrain from doing business with Burma.

"Vancouver Fire Fighters would not have to wear sweatshop uniforms if we had an effective 'No Sweat' policy in place," said BC Ethical Purchasing Group Chair Tom Sandborn.

"No one in the movement for justice for sweatshop workers believes that anyone at Vancouver City Hall - elected officials or staff - consciously wants to spend city tax dollars in support of slave labour, child labour, or other 'sweat shop' abuses."

The City of Vancouver currently does not require its uniform suppliers to disclose any information about where and under what conditions uniforms are manufactured. However, city councillors in other Canadian cities, such as Saskatoon, Toronto, and Windsor, have all endorsed the idea of becoming "No Sweat" cities.