NORTH-EAST campaigner Carolyn Blyth joined an international protest against what she described as sweatshop conditions in sportswear yesterday.
Ms Blyth, from Sunderland, arranged for a group of activists to pose at sewing machines on a rooftop in the centre of Athens.
The event was part of a series of protests calling on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to stop exploiting workers producing sportswear that will be marketed through the Olympic Games, in Greece.
The campaign, Play Fair at the Olympics, launched in March, has highlighted inadequate wages, high levels of compulsory overtime, impossibly high work targets, denial of workers' rights, sexual harassment and verbal abuse in the sportswear industry worldwide.
Protestors said several sports firms, including Nike, adidas, Reebok and Puma, responded to the campaign by confirming the importance of respecting workers' rights.
But so far, according to campaigners, the IOC has refused to act on the issue.
The campaign is being jointly run by Oxfam International, Clean Clothes Campaign and Global Unions.
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