Olympics-China probes child labour claim, talks tough

HONG KONG, June 11 (Reuters) Beijing Olympics organisers vowed on Monday to come down hard on any cases of children being used to produce merchandise for the Games, after a report accused factories of ''gross exploitation''.

The report by the Playfair Alliance, released in London, said Chinese children as young as 12 were involved in making licensed bags, caps and stationery for next year's Games.

Vice Chairman of the Beijing Games organising committee (BOCOG) Jiang Xiaoyu said he took such issues seriously and sought ''to protect the reputation of the Olympic movement and the Beijing Olympic Games''.

''The Olympic organising committee is now in the process of verifying this, and if what was in the relevant reports indeed exists the organising committee will deal with it seriously,'' Jiang told reporters in Hong Kong, where he was meeting local Olympic officials.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said it was not directly responsible for the production of merchandise but added it was committed to ''being a socially responsible leader of the Olympic movement''.

''It matters to us is that sourcing is done ethically,'' IOC spokeswoman Giselle Davies said in a statement.

''The IOC does not directly manage and control the production of Olympic-related products across the world -- it has to do this by influence, and by creating standards and policies that are an important part of the process and agreed on by everyone involved in staging the Olympic Games.'' FOUR FACTORIES UNDER SPOTLIGHT The Playfair Alliance, represented in Britain by the Trades Union Congress and Labour Behind the Label, researched working conditions at four factories making 2008 Olympic bags, headgear, stationery and other products.

The factories involved in producing Olympic merchandise are believed to be in the south of the country.

Researchers found adults earning half the legal minimum wage in China and employees who were made to work up to 15 hours per day, seven days a week.

''Children and adult workers are being grossly exploited so that unscrupulous employers can make more profit,'' TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber was quoted as saying.

''Their actions tarnish the Olympic ideal, and we don't want more of the same when the Olympics come to London. The IOC must add respect for workers' rights to the Olympic charter.'' Beijing authorities seized nearly 30,000 fake Olympic souvenirs in February, some made from toxic materials, state media reported earlier.

A week earlier, Chinese customs officials flagged a crackdown on fake Olympic merchandise, and said more than 100 cases of imported and exported goods infringing on the Olympic trademark had been handled since 2002.

China regularly defends its record on fighting piracy, saying it is a developing country and needs time. But pirated goods ranging from drugs and designer bags to foods, movies and music discs are openly sold in shops and on street corners.

REUTERS TB KN1528