Dunnes Stores says it has ended all links, direct or indirect, with Burma, one of the world's most repressive regimes. The company yesterday moved swiftly to end contracts with a UK-based supplier which was manufacturing shirts under Dunnes' "St Bernard" label in a military factory in Burma. Dunnes says it did not know where the clothes were being manufactured.
This follows allegations in a weekend television report that Dunnes clothes are being made in a state-run factory near Rangoon, where workers earn about 50p for a 12-hour day.
Mandate, the union representing Dunnes workers, yesterday called on the company to end all links with Burma, as did the development agency, Trocaire.
The Minister for State at the Department of Foreign Affairs, Ms Liz O'Donnell, said the Government would "actively support" additional sanctions against Burma. "The continuing large scale repression of the democratic opposition, the detention of human rights activists, including the arrest of the elected President, Aung San Suu Kyi, and the forced labour of Burmese citizens is unacceptable," she said.
