20 April 2012 – This is a letter of protest to the Independent Olympic Committee calling for them to reject Mining giant Rio Tinto’s participation in the Olympics as the suppliers of the Olympic medals due to their un sports man ship behaviour in trying to increase profits by driving down wages.
 
Jacques Rogge
President
International Olympic Committee
 
We the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) are angered to learn that the IOC promotes the ethos of fair play for the London Olympics whilst engaging the services of a company who blatantly violate basic labour laws and abuse Workers rights in a nauseating show of corporate greed.
 
We stand in Solidarity with the United Steelworks Canada (USW) in their calls for the IOC to reject Rio Tinto’s participation in the Olympic games due to their unethical labour practices, such as the recent lockout of Workers at their aluminium smelt works in Quebec, Canada, A dispute that is occurring because Workers there are demanding fair play and are refusing to bow to pressures put upon them by these neo liberal tyrants.
 
We feel sure that there will be many athletes competing in the games who would feel uncomfortable in the knowledge that the medals they wear are made by a company whose commitment to promoting themselves through association with the Olympic games do not share its ideals and values.
 
We insist that you keep Rio Tinto off the podium until they stop the poor treatment of its Workers to avoid tarnishing the ideals of the games and look for a more ethical company in line with the Olympic spirit.
 
We look forward to hearing from you soon with some positive news.
 
Andy Smith,
 
International Solidarity Liaison Officer