Ottawa No Sweat Coalition

The City of Ottawa shouldn't be supporting sweatshops with our tax dollars. Tell your city councillor that you support a `No Sweat' policy for the city.

Ottawa No Sweat is a coalition of individuals and representatives from faith, labour, student, and non-governmental organizations. We are concerned about working conditions in sweatshops around the world.

Ottawa No Sweat is part of the Ethical Trading Action Group (ETAG). ETAG is lobbying to get Canadian public institutions to adopt ethical purchasing policies and mobilizing for changes to federal textile labeling regulations.

Ottawa No Sweat is working to get the City of Ottawa to adopt a `No Sweat' ethical purchasing policy. A `No Sweat' ethical purchasing policy will ensure that clothing and other goods purchased by the City of Ottawa are not produced in sweatshop conditions.

For more information email us at ottawa.no.sweat@gmail.com or visit MaquilaSolidarity.org

Who made the clothes you are wearing? There's a good chance that some of your wardrobe was made in a sweatshop.

What is a sweatshop?

A sweatshop is any work environment where employees work long hours in unsafe conditions for low pay. Sweatshop workers are often intimidated and harassed and sometimes even subjected to violence and sexual abuse. Most sweatshop workers are women and many are children.

Sweatshop conditions exist all over the world in many sectors. Agricultural workers rarely earn a subsidence wage while being forced to work long hours in unsafe conditions.

In Canada, many workers sew brand-name clothes for piece rates that are less than the legal minimum wage. They don't receive benefits or overtime pay.

What can be done about sweatshops?

Ottawa No Sweat has come together to do something about this problem.

Ottawa No Sweat is working to get the City of Ottawa to pass a `No Sweat' resolution stating that the municipal government and its agencies will only purchase uniforms and other goods that are made in factories that comply with internationally accepted minimum labour standards based on Conventions of the United Nations and the International Labour Organization.

A `No Sweat' policy says "No" to child labour, forced labour, discrimination, harassment, and abuse, and "Yes" to fair wages and hours of work as well as safe, healthy working conditions.

We don't want our tax dollars used to buy sweatshop products. We want people, including our city councillors, to think about the choices they make when they shop.

How can you help?

Become informed.
Join our campaign. (This fall we will be making a presentation to Ottawa's Corporate Services Committee. We will need your support. Email us to say you support us and we will keep you up-to-date on our activities so that you can participate.)
Phone, write, fax or email the mayor and your city councillor and let them know that you support a 'No Sweat' policy for the City of Ottawa.
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	Mayor Bob Chiarelli
	110 Laurier Avenue West
	Ottawa ON K1P 1J1
	580-2496 (phone) 580-2509 (fax)
	bob.chiarelli@ottawa.ca
						
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Defend Workers' Rights here and abroad. Ask for Fair Trade 'No Sweat' products when you shop.

What is a sweatshop?

What can be done about sweatshops?

How can you help?

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