Christmas shoppers should use their consumer power to give employees of toy manufacturers a fair deal, say Trocaire and the Irish Congress of Trade Unions.
ICTU vice-president Senator Joe O'Toole said yesterday: "Many toy workers labour for long hours in hazardous working conditions for very low pay."
Trocaire and ICTU are asking Hasbro - whose range includes Pokemon - and Mattel, makers of Barbie, to ensure that codes of conduct are implemented and independently monitored. "Our campaign also highlights McDonald's, whose `Happy Meal' toys are produced in factories with poor working conditions."
Launching the Fair Play for Toy Workers campaign, Trocaire director, Mr Justin Kilcullen said: "We are not asking people to boycott companies, as this impacts on the workers' livelihoods. Instead. . .buy the toys but send one of our postcards or a letter to the company expressing your concern."
Hasbro said it had a "comprehensive global business ethics principles code in place" in all its manufacturing locations. A freedom of association provision had been appended to this code. Mattel indicated it had begun implementing a code of conduct and had started monitoring working conditions.
Mr Paul Booth, managing director of McDonald's in Ireland, said: "McDonald's works closely with its suppliers and will not tolerate any sub-standard working conditions."