As employees we are all pressing for ‘progressive’ employment practices. Shorter working hours, better hourly rates and benefits such as company pension schemes are illustrations of this trend.

Since most faked products come into the EU from outside its borders the workers employed to make pirated products do not share any of these progressive employment practices with us.

Long hours for low pay and little regard for health are common in the countries involved in the manufacture of fakes. So too is child labour.

By continuing with accepting fake products in the EU we are condoning these practices.