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THE world’s largest jewellery retailer will face a Valentine’s Day boycott over its supplier’s shocking record of abuse against its workers.
Global union IndustriAll called on supporters not to buy gifts from stores owned by retailer Signet because it is supplied by the infamous Rio Tinto mining giant.
Signet owns jewellery chains H Samuel and Ernest Jones, with 500 stores in Britain, and Kay and Jared, and Zales in the US and Canada.
The firms rake in billions every year from its 3,500 jewellery stores worldwide.
Now IndustriAll hopes to squeeze their profits in order to put pressure on Signet to tell its supplier to “clean up its act.”
IndustriAll Global Union general secretary Jyrki Raina said: “Until Rio Tinto drastically changes its ways, the company will sully the reputations of all its major business partners. Signet is no exception.”
The campaign launched before the February 14 love fest is supported by a broad range of groups, including Artworks, London Mining Network and LabourStart.
LabourStart spokesman Eric Lee said: “Rio Tinto is a serial violator of workers’ rights. It also has a long history of abuse of human rights and destruction of the environment.
“We’ve decided that there could be no better time to tell the public about the connection and to encourage that jewellery company to tell Rio Tinto to clean up its act.”
Rio Tinto is also accused of environmental destruction and abusing the rights of indigenous peoples.
