ACADEMICS STUDYING NIKE, REEBOK, and ADIDAS- INDONESIA SUBCONTRACT FACTORIES
| GLOBE
PROJECT: Find
the non-disclosed locations of Nike, Adidas, etc.
factories. Where are the secret factories? As
soon as we systematically identify where they are, we
can monitor what they are doing.
NEW We also want to find comparable factories where working conditions are better. For example, Contact dboje@nmsu.edu at Academics Studying Nike, Adidas... if you know where they are. |
Africa
El Salvador, Guatemala |
Korea | Factory List |
QUICK WAY TO MOVE ABOUT THIS SITE Pull Down Choice and Go
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| INDONESIA -Nike Disclosed location | ||
| PT Kukdong Intl. – Indonesia | Desa
Cikiwul, Kec, Bantar Gebang Jalan Raya Narogong KM, 12 No. 8 Kabupaten Bekasi, Jawa Barat Indonesia |
Eui
Jun, Choi Tel: 62 21 825 0870 Fax: 62 21 825 0867 NO BUSINESS EMAIL |
| INDONESIA - Duke List http://nikebiz.com/labor/fact_dk.shtml | ||
| PT Dong One Garment | JL
Ternate Block D – 15A KBN Cakung Cilincing Jakarta – Utara, Indonesia |
Hwang
Oh Sun Tel: 62-21-448-30539 Fax: 62-21-448 30540 E-mail: hos2249@centrin.net.id |
| PT Kukdong Intl. – Indonesia | Desa
Cikiwul, Kec, Bantar Gebang Jalan Raya Narogong KM, 12 No. 8 Kabupaten Bekasi, Jawa Barat Indonesia |
Eui
Jun, Choi Tel: 62 21 825 0870 Fax: 62 21 825 0867 NO BUSINESS EMAIL |
Chronology - See Nike Abuses in Indonesia Chronology
After years of local reporting, - CBS-TV (US) in 1993 broadcasts highly critical report on Nike-contractors' labor practices in Indonesia. For more of the chronology see "Sweaty Sneakers" by Pittman (2000).
Source: Nike's
cover-up campaign BY SIMON BUTLER
EXHIBIT A - November 1999 (Source
CCC, 1999 - SUDWIND Materials No. 7 Siegburg Germany)
Ingeborg Wick From "Cheap production in Indonesia for
German fashion TNCs - steps towards alternatives" By Sudwind
(based on research by PMK (Urban Community Mission), Jakarta, between
January and April 1999)
Harsh conditions for workers
The factory PT. Tainan Enterprises Indonesia (Tainan) is based in Nusantara, an export processing zone (EPZ) north of Jakarta. Out of the 168 factories in the EPZ, opened in 1986, 73 produce garments. The others produce electronics and footwear. Foreign investors come from South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore.
EXHIBIT B - The New Jeff Ballinger et al USM (Urban Community Mission) Wage Study
Reports (1, 2, 3)
Boje, David M. (2001) "Comparison of the Urban Community Mission (UCM) Survey Report December 1999 to the Global Alliance, Center for Societal Development Studies (CSDS) 2000 study. http://cbae.nmsu.edu/~dboje/AA/Boje_compare_GA_and_UCM_studies.htm
EXHIBIT C Worker 1999 protest in Indonesia (Source, Corporate Watch).
PT. Nikomas Gemilang factory -- which has over 20,000 young Indonesians making Nike shoes
JAKARTA, Dec 23 (AFP) - Around 8,000 workers at two Indonesian factories producing Nike shoes went on a violent rampage in protest at dragging negotiations over bonuses, a report said Thursday. The workers from the PT Astra's Shoe Industry Division in Tanggerang, west of Jakarta, on Wednesday vandalized seven vehicles inside the factory compound and smashed factory windows with stones (Source, Corporate Watch).
EXHIBIT D Nike Sponsored Student Report Nike
Student Monitoring Report, Bangladesh and Indonesia
Shubha Chakravarty
- Protest to US shoe company continues in Indonesia
July 23, 2007 -- http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/6222182.html (People's Daily) Over 5,000 workers of Indonesian shoe companies resumed their rally on Monday, demanding U.S. shoe company Nike Inc., not to cut orders. Riding hundreds buses and motorcycles, the protesters from the two local partners of Nike Inc., the Naga Sakti Pharama Shoes Corp. , and Hardaya Aneka Shoes Corps.,staged rallies outside of trade ministry, the Indonesian shoe association office and the stock exchange building in the capital of Jakarta, where the Nike Indonesia takes office. The rally is ahead of the meeting of the Indonesian government, Nike representative and the owner of the companies on Tuesday in Singapore..."If Nike does not respond, we all must call Nike must exit from Indonesia," said Sunardi.
On Tuesday''s meeting in Singapore, Indonesia will be represented by the chief of Investment Coordinating Board Muhammad Lutfi, the owner of the
two local companies and the representative of Nike Inc.."I send this message to the government, which will have a meeting tomorrow, please meet this aspiration," he said.
Earlier the Nike Inc., has decided to terminate contracts with the two local companies due to poor quality reason, and planned to find other local partners... "The price offered by Nike is 11 U.S. dollars a pair of shoes. This is cheaper than the 15 U.S. dollars price a pair 15-18 years ago. Now it is trying to find new factories which offer lower prices of 10 U.S. dollars or even seven U.S. dollars a pair," she said. Source: Xinhua
Nike to meet Indonesian officials on plant dispute Mon Jul 23, 2007 JAKARTA, July 23 (Reuters) - U.S. sportswear maker Nike Inc. (NKE.N: Quote, Profile, Research) will meet an Indonesian contractor and government officials to discuss its plan to phase out orders at two plants employing 14,000 people, a company owner said on Monday. Nike has said it will cease taking orders at the factories owned by Central Cipta Murdaya (CCM) -- PT Hardaya Aneka Shoes Industry and Nagasakti Paramashoes Industry -- at the end of 2007.
The U.S. firm said last week it remained committed to Indonesia and explained that its move to cut orders at the two contractors was due to quality issues. Siti Hartati Murdaya, president director of CCM, said the Nike meeting would take place in Singapore and include the head of Indonesia's Investment Coordination Board, Muhammad Lutfi. "I want Nike to be fair. They can cut their orders, but they have to do it one at a time," Murdaya told Reuters by telephone. Murdaya, who did not say when the meeting would take place, said Nike should not drop production in nine months, because it would take time to shift workers to other CCM factories.
"I want Nike to phase out orders in 18 months for HASI and another 12 months for NASA," she said.
Nike officials in Indonesia could not immediately be contacted.
Several thousand angry Indonesian workers staged another noisy protest outside Nike's now sealed office in Jakarta on Monday, urging the firm to resume orders or pay severance.
Erin Dobson, Nike director for corporate responsibility communications, told Reuters in an interview last week that the move to cut orders at the two contractors was purely a business decision, adding that the factories had failed to meet Nike's quality standards and other performance targets.
Nike subcontracts to 38 factories in Indonesia employing 115,000 staff.
Indonesia is keen to seek foreign investment to help make inroads into an unemployment rate estimated at more than 10 percent.((Reporting by Telly Nathalia and Adhityani Arga; editing by Ed Davies and Jane Baird; ed.davies@reuters.com; Reuters Messaging; ed.davies.reuters.com@reuters.net; tel +6221 384 6364)) Keywords: NIKE INDONESIA/- May 15, 2000 (press here) The other shoe drops By David L. Marcus -Conditions at Nike factories overseas appeared to be getting better: The company had raised wages and barred children from working at its plants. But it wasn't enough for University of Oregon senior Agatha Schmaedick, who visited a Nike factory while studying in Indonesia last year. She, like hundreds of other college kids at Oregon, Brown, and the University of Michigan, pushed her school to endorse the Worker Rights Consortium, a labor-backed group that makes surprise visits to Third World factories and demands "fair living wages." Then Phil Knight, Nike's CEO, just did it. Unable to satisfy its critics, the sneaker maker took its swoosh, and money, from the athletic fields. In recent weeks, Nike has canceled contracts with Michigan's and Brown's sports programs, and Knight personally rescinded a $30 million gift to the University of Oregon, his alma mater. US News on line.
- September 4, 2000 - Rights Group Warns Athletes to Be Wary About Nike Monday, September 04, 2000 SYDNEY (Reuters) - Olympic athletes should think closely about their ties with Nike (NKE.N) because of the sportswear manufacturer's work practices in Asia, a human rights group said Monday. Community Aid Abroad, an independent Australian aid and human rights group, issued a report Monday claiming Nike was failing to protect the rights of its workers at Indonesian factories. (press here for more).
- September 4, 2000 - (press here) Olympic athletes urged to visit Nike factories SYDNEY, Australia (AP) — Olympic athletes were urged Monday to visit Nike factories in Indonesia that activists contend exploit workers. Activists renewed a campaign against the international sportswear giant, releasing a report that documents claims of intimidation and harassment of union workers and women in companies contracted to make Nike shoes in Indonesia. The Community Aid Abroad-Oxfam Australia report, based on interviews conducted with industrial union organizers in Indonesian factories, said workers were threatened with violence if they tried to join unions; that union members were fired for small mistakes and that women were intimidated into not applying for leave by being required to undergo humiliating medical examinations. Tim Connor, the author of the "NikeWatch'' report, said Nike was failing to protect workers rights in its contract factories in Indonesia. FOX SPORTS on line.
- "Nike: American dream on RI sweat" Rp 10,000 (about US$1.20) per day is simply not a living wage for a human being. Source: The Jakarta Post September 13, 2000 Opinion By Donna K. Woodward.
- Cruel Treatment Working for Nike in Indonesia Urban Community Mission Survey Report, December 1999 Labor Alerts: a service of Campaign for Labor Rights
- Like Cutting Bamboo Nike and Indonesian Workers' Right to Freedom of Association - Community Aid Abroad
| Excerpt of
transcript of Dusty Kidd's "simple
economics" from Street Stories (CBS) July 2, 1993
-- Roberta Baskins reporting. Dusty Kidd is director
of the Labor Practices Department of Nike Corporation.
(Source Sun, 17 Sep 2000 06:53:38 -0400 email alert
from Jeff Ballinger). KIDD: This represents the best standard that a worker can attain at this point in Indonesia for basic--basic skill-type work. (Footage of Bata factory) BASKIN: (Voiceover) Well, not really. Nearby a Canadian company, Bata, makes inexpensive canvas sneakers. (Footage of Baskin and Kidd) BASKIN: (Voiceover) We told Mr. Kidd that we had heard Bata paid its workers better than the factories that make Nikes. Mr. KIDD: I don't believe it. I mean, I just--simple economics tells you that that can't possibly be true. (My emphasis) Phil Knight trashed CBS producer + Baskin in book, Just Do It (Donald Katz, Random House, 1994) CBS News Transcripts SHOW: STREET STORIES (9:00 PM ET) July 02, 1993, Friday HEADLINE: JUST DO IT; NIKE CHEAP-LABOR FACTORIES IN INDONESIA BODY: ED BRADLEY: Welcome to STREET STORIES. It may seem there's nothing more American than sneakers. But the fact is the athletic shoes most of us own probably weren't made in America but in Asia where labor is cheap. How cheap? Prepare yourself for a shock. Tonight Roberta Baskin reports on one of the most successful athletic shoe companies anywhere, one where workers may be making shoes, but what they can't make is a living. JUST DO IT (Excerpt from Nike shoe commercial) ROBERTA BASKIN: (Voiceover) The message is simple: Champions wear Nikes. And Nike is the champion at selling sneakers. But what Nike doesn't do is actually make those sneakers. (Footage of a Nike shoe factory) BASKIN: (Voiceover) Nikes are made half a world away by Asian companies in countries like Indonesia... (Footage from streets of Indonesia) BASKIN: (Voiceover) ...a crowded impoverished nation desperate for jobs. (Footage of Indonesian laborers) BASKIN: (Voiceover) Labor is cheap and nowhere has Nike struck a better bargain than here in Indonesia. (Footage from Nike factory) BASKIN: (Voiceover) For as little as 19 cents an hour, $ 1.30 a day, these young Indonesian women make Nike shoes. Some of them are as young as 14 years old. They cut and stitch and glue Nikes for 8, 10, sometimes 12 hours a day. To them, 'Just Do It' isn't just a catchy ad slogan. (Footage of Baskin and Jeff Ballinger) Mr. JEFF BALLINGER (American Union Activist): I had no idea these shoe factories would show up as such glaring examples of law-breaking. (Footage from Nike factory) BASKIN: (Voiceover) Jeff Ballinger, an American union activist, worked on a wage survey of Indonesian factories and found that last year most of the factories making Nikes were paying some workers less than the legal minimum wage. We flew Ballinger back to Indonesia to talk about Nike. (Footage of Baskin and Ballinger) Mr. BALLINGER: I played softball when I first arrived here, and some of the guys on the team were from Nike, and one of the them asked me what I did. I said, 'I'm working with the American unions. We have an office here to help the Indonesian workers.' He looked at me and said, 'I'm your worst nightmare.' (Footage from Nike factory) Mr. BALLINGER: (Voiceover) And months later, when we did the survey, we found that he was right. They are the worst. They were setting the low end of the wage scale. BASKIN: (Voiceover) But they are not alone. Reebok, Adidas and other sport shoe companies make their shoes here, too, sometimes in the same factories as Nike. But with sales last year of $ 3.4 billion, Nike is first in the sports and fitness world. And in Indonesia, Nike sets the pace. (Footage of Baskin with Dusty Kidd at the factory) Mr. DUSTY KIDD (Nike Public Relations Manager): Take a look around. BASIN: (Voiceover) Nike's public relations manager, Dusty Kidd, took us on a tour of a brand-new factory called Pao Chen. Mr. KIDD: These people have really good jobs. People who've been in the business a long time tell me this is about as good as it gets. So that's why we're here. BASKIN: (Voiceover) But 'as good as it gets' is not enough for many workers making Nikes at Pao Chen and other factories. (Footage of Baskin in front of Nike factory) BASKIN: Last September, at this factory outside Jakarta, 6,000 workers put down their Nikes and walked out on strike. All they wanted was the Indonesian minimum wage, about $ 1.30 a day. Management gave in, but suspended 22 of the strike organizers. (Footage of Baskin with Sadisah) BASKIN: (Voiceover) One of those suspended was 24-year-old Sadisah. Unlike some of the other women, who could still lose their jobs, Sadisah wasn't afraid to talk with us. Sadisah still lives across the road from the factory where she used to make Nikes. She shares a tiny one-room shack with her sister and two other women who still work at the factory. How do you sleep? (Sadisah demonstrates) BASIN: Uh-huh. I see. You take the mat, and you sleep down on the floor. (Voiceover) No electricity. No running water. Open sewers. A 1989 study for the Indonesian government found that three-quarters of female factory workers were malnourished. (Footage of Baskin and Ballinger) Mr. BALLINGER: We're giving foreign aid. America gives foreign aid to this country, and these workers could qualify for foreign aid. I don't think, you know, it's Nike's place to--to build a better life for all these workers. Just, you know, don't exploit the fact that these workers have no power. Because the leverage is held by Nike. (Footage of Baskin with a group of women workers) BASKIN: (Voiceover) These women who make Nikes at Pao Chen and another factory agreed to show me their pay stubs. So how much a day? (A woman holds up a pay stub) Unidentified Woman #1: Two thousand and six hundred rupiah per day. BASKIN: OK, $ 1.30 a day in America. (Voiceover) While $ 1.30 a day is the minimum wage here, it's well below Indonesia's poverty line. For these workers, that's about $ 1.85 a day. Is this enough to live on? Unidentified Woman #2: (Through translator) Not enough. (Footage of Baskin and Kidd at the factory) BASKIN: How do you respond to the criticism that these women aren't paid a decent wage by you? Mr. KIDD: It may not be a decent wage in the context of an American worker, but this is not America. The people who run the factory pay what they have to pay to get the work done properly. BASKIN: (Voiceover) Although Nike managers visit the factories every day to monitor quality, Nike insists it has no influence over factory wages because they don't own the factories. Mr. KIDD: We don't set the minimum wage nor do we set the wages in the factory. That's what the factory managers here do. (Footage of Baskin with James Clad) Mr. JAMES CLAD (Indonesian Expert): That's true. They don't set the wages. They don't want to set the wages. BASKIN: (Voiceover) James Clad is an expert on Indonesia at the Carnegie Endowment, a Washington think tank. Mr. CLAD: They can be strictly legal and say, 'It's not our affair.' And they'd be right, legally. On the other hand, they can say, 'Unless the supplier does something to improve the daily wage rate, we're going to take our business elsewhere.' And that's Nike's decision. (Footage of Baskin and Kidd) BASKIN: You don't feel that Nike has any responsibility to make sure that they're getting a standard of living that is above the poverty line? Mr. KIDD: Again, I think if you look around and look at the rest of Indonesia, these people are way above the standard of living. BASKIN: But these women are working in a factory for Nike, one of the most profitable--the most profitable shoemaking company... Mr. KIDD: Mm-hmm. BASKIN: ...and they're not making a wage that is above the poverty line here in Indonesia. Mr. KIDD: Well, if--again, I'm not--I'm not an expert economist. But if that's true, then the minimum wage and the poverty line, one of those two, maybe, is not accurately reflecting what the working conditions are. BASKIN: (Voiceover) Nike urged us to take into account the other benefits the women at this particular factory get, like free housing. (Footage inside housing for Nike workers) BASKIN: (Voiceover) We'd already seen the housing several days before our official Nike tour. We found the women live in barracks here. Some told us they aren't allowed outside the factory fence except on Sunday, and then only with a signed pass from management. (Close-up of pass) Unidentified Woman #3 (Translator): This is the permission letter. BASKIN: To leave the factory? Woman #3: Yes, to leave the factory. Name and then the number. BASKIN: So the--and--and without this, they can't leave the factory? Woman #3: Yes. They can't leave. (Footage inside women's barracks) BASKIN: (Voiceover) Conditions at the Pao Chen compound are better than in many Indonesian villages. There is electricity, running water, toilets. But they give up some of their freedom. (Footage inside factory) BASKIN: (Voiceover) A Pao Chen manager told us the factory recruits young women from rural villages because they are easier to control than men. (Footage of Baskin and Kidd) BASKIN: We talked to women from this place who say that they're like prisoners here. They're not allowed out without passes. Mr. KIDD: Mm-hmm. BASKIN: How do you react to that? Mr. KIDD: I don't know. I wasn't aware of that. You're asking me a question I just don't have any knowledge of. BASKIN: But this is one of your premiere places. This is a place that you're proudest of, that you wanted to take us to. Mr. KIDD: Right. But again, I've been here for a day. So there are many things about the way a factory is run and the way we operate as a company, I don't have total knowledge of. (Footage of Phil Knight) Mr. PHIL KNIGHT (Founder and CEO of Nike): It was the best quarter that Nike ever had... BASKIN: (Voiceover) We hoped Phil Knight, Nike's founder and CEO, would do the talking, but he rejected our request for an interview. (Footage from factory) BASIN: Knight, however, did write a letter saying we didn't understand the, quote, "parental role" of Indonesian factories. Mr. KIDD: (Voiceover) These are jobs that didn't exist five years ago. Five years ago these people would have been working on farms. (Footage of Kidd) Mr. KIDD: They would have had no housing, no health care, no kind of subsistence beyond a kind of standard hand-to-mouth type existence. This represents the best standard that a worker can attain at this point in Indonesia for basic--basic skill-type work. (Footage of Bata factory) BASKIN: (Voiceover) Well, not really. Nearby a Canadian company, Bata, makes inexpensive canvas sneakers. (Footage of Baskin and Kidd) BASKIN: (Voiceover) We told Mr. Kidd that we had heard Bata paid its workers better than the factories that make Nikes. Mr. KIDD: I don't believe it. I mean, I just--simple economics tells you that that can't possibly be true. (Footage of Baskin and Mahmood Hak at the Bata factory) BASKIN: (Voiceover) So we went to the Bata factory to find out. Mahmood Hak is the director of Bata Indonesia. In this shoe factory, what is the wage of the lowest paid worker? Mr. MAHMOOD HAK (Director, Bata Indonesia): Our lowest paid full-time worker earns about $ 3.90 cash, per day. BASKIN: Three dollars and 90 cents a day. Now that's almost three times what some of these other shoe companies are paying. But you're still profitable? Mr. HAK: We are profitable, yes. No complaints. (Footage of Baskin with Dr. Payaman Simanjuntak) BASKIN: (Voiceover) Dr. Payaman Simanjuntak, the director-general of Indonesia's Labor Ministry, says a rich company like Nike should also pay more than the minimum wage. Dr. PAYAMAN SIMANJUNTAK (Labor Ministry Director-General): Frankly speaking, we are not happy with the condition. We are not happy with the low level of wage. We would say--if Nike could pay decent wage rather than just minimum wage. (Footage of Nike workers) BASKIN: (Voiceover) But Dr. Simanjuntak says there's not much the government can do about it. If it insists on higher wages, then companies like Nike will pull out of Indonesia, taking thousands of jobs with them. (Footage of Baskin and James Clad) Mr. CLAD: These are industries that are footloose. That's the expression. They're footloose. They can pick up and move, and I've seen factories leave in a week. (Footage of Nike factory) BASKIN: (Voiceover) So for fear of losing much-needed jobs, Indonesia sets its minimum wage below the poverty line. Again, that's about $ 1.85 a day for these workers. (Footage of Baskin and Kidd) BASKIN: One dollar and 85 cents day. What would that do to Nike? Mr. KIDD: I don't know. I mean, any increase in cost is reflected in the cost of the product, I'm sure. (Footage of Nike commercials) BASKIN: (Voiceover) Meanwhile, Nike lavishes millions on athlete endorsements, by some accounts $ 20 million a year to Michael Jordan alone. (Footage from Duke University basketball game) BASKIN: (Voiceover) Recently Nike paid Duke University Coach Mike Krzyzewski a $ 1 million bonus to dress his players in Nikes. (Footage of factory workers) BASKIN: (Voiceover) And the Indonesian workers who actually make Nikes? They get paid less than $ 1.00 a pair. (Footage of Baskin and Jeff Ballinger) Mr. BALLINGER: It would take roughly 1 percent of Nike's advertising budget, which is about $ 180 million a year. You could put 15,000 workers above the poverty line. One percent of Nike's advertising budget. BASKIN: Does that mean that we would pay higher prices back in America for our Nikes? Mr. BALLINGER: Maybe you'd see one less Nike ad per week. I don't think that would make anybody very upset. (Footage from factory and close-up of Just Do It banner; theme music) BRADLEY: Still ahead, life goes to the movies--real life. |
Dear friends:
Our little AFL-CIO office in Jakatra organized a survey of over
160,000 Indonesian workers (55 questions long) over a 26 month period.
The public relations people for The Global Alliance obviously have
little idea about what research has been done about Asian workers.
Jeff B.
See September 10, 1999 News Release by Jeff Ballinger http://www.web.net/~msn/3nike13.htm (Source NikeWatch Campaign of Australia).
Community Aid Abroad-Oxfam Australia
BRIEFING PAPER No. 27
TIMOTHY CONNOR
September 2000
This is a report by the Community Aid Abroad (Oxfam Australia report) documents intimidation and harassment of union organizers by managers of Nike contract factories in Indonesia. http://www.caa.org.au/campaigns/nike/association/report.html
For example, "There is a branch of SP TSK (part of SPSI Reformasi) at PT Nikomas and all workers automatically become members of this union a couple of months after they start work. There are only 15 SP TSK representatives for the 23,000 workers at the factory. The workers I interviewed felt that some of the SPTSK representatives genuinely tried to help them but others were "on the side of the company". Many workers are afraid to tell SPTSK about problems they are facing because if supervisors find out someone has complained to SP TSK they often humiliate them in front of other workers. The female worker I interviewed said:
Worker (through interpreter) - The factory don't let the worker complain to SPSI. Say "We are family. Any problem you should talk to supervisor, not to outsiders." Scold workers if they talk to SPSI...Every time there is a workers' meeting with the factory, the factory likes to make some comments about someone who complains often…If there is a meeting and the factory manager…says "You! You are the one who always causes trouble!" And then the worker gets embarrassed…It's like pressure…"You complain all the time while your work is not good enough." It's like pressure on them, to make embarrass, to make them feel like a fool. [I] got that once in a meeting. In front of friends. "You...you're the one who always cause trouble, you complain to SPSI all the time." (See Report).
See also "How the Military Enforces Global Capitalism Nike’s Armies" (2000) by Jeff Ballinger
Many college students know what it's like to be low on cash, but very few
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Dear friends: FINALLY someone goes to
jail! Sacked Nike workers (Cicih, Sadisah and 22
others) won a Supreme Court judgment against Hasan's
Astra Group, but could only get about fifteen percent
of lost wages claimed from the disgraced
billionaire. Nike's public position on dealing
with a reviled character like Hasan?
"That's how you do business in Indonesia"
(Oregonian 11/11/97) Jeff Ballinger (February 2, 2001) Hasan’s Astra Group is a Nike subcontract factory owner. JAKARTA, Feb 2 (AFP) - Suharto crony sentenced to two years jail for graft An Indonesian
court late Friday sentenced timber tycoon Muhamad
"Bob" Hasan, a key business partner of
disgraced former president Suharto, to two years
imprisonment on two separate corruption charges. It was the first guilty verdict
handed down to a Suharto crony since the former
dictator fell from power in May of 1998. Central Jakarta district court
presiding judge Subardi (Eds: one name) said the bench
in a unanimous decision found the 70-year-old Hasan
guilty of of causing losses to the state of 244
million dollars through a fraudulent aerial mapping
survey awarded 11 years ago. He was also found guilty by the
court of having misappropriated 168 million dollars in
forestry association funds, Subardi said. The prosecution, which had
demanded an eight year sentence, was undecided whether
to appeal the verdict, but Hasan's defence lawyers
immediately appealed against the sentence. The defence appeal meant that
Hasan was allowed to return home pending legal
resolution of the case, rather than go straight to
jail. Subardi also ordered Hasan to pay a 15 million rupiah (1,578 dollar) fine And repay the state the 14.2 billion rupiah he was charged with embezzling from the forestry association fund. |
Global
Alliance for Workers and Communities (2001) “Workers Voices:
An interim report workers’ needs and aspirations in nine
Nike contract factories” 106 pp. Accessed March 9,
2001 http://www.nikebiz.com/labor/nike_gla_report.pdf
Global Alliance Report for Indonesia (html Need Assessment Survey Items).
Global Alliance Questionnaire guidelines for Indonesia (pdf)
Boje, David M. (2001) "Comparison of the Urban Community Mission (UCM) Survey Report December 1999 to the Global Alliance, Center for Societal Development Studies (CSDS) 2000 study. http://cbae.nmsu.edu/~dboje/AA/Boje_compare_GA_and_UCM_studies.htm
February 22 - 2001 Nike report alleges
abuse By Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson in New York Published: February 21
2001- Nike Indonesia workers face abuse, sexual harassment, low pay -
Financial
Times London dubs it, the end of Nike's
"denial" phase. Nike promises to remedy
'disturbing' problems at Indonesian
Why does Financial Times (London) get pretty much an "exclusive"? It might have something to do with FT's boss, David Bell, being Chairman of the board of Rick Little's "International Youth Foundation."
Workers at nine of Nike's contract factories in
Indonesia have witnessed verbal and physical abuse by supervisors
against co-workers, and female employees being coerced into sex,
according to a report released Wednesday by a nonprofit watchdog
group.
Employees also complained of being forced to work overtime, seeing assembly-line workers fondled by managers and having access to medical care restricted, the report by Global Alliance found...
Researchers from Global Alliance conducted hour
long interviews with 4,004 workers - 6 percent of the work force at
the nine factories chosen - for the report. Subjects were chosen at
random, and the interviews were done without supervision from factory
officials, said Rick Little, chairman of Global Alliance.
Of the workers surveyed in the latest report, 56
percent said they had seen supervisors verbally abusing co-workers.
And 15.7 percent reported observing improper sexual touching. Another
13.7 percent said they saw physical abuse.
Workers reported seeing others punished for being late by making them clean toilets or run around the factory grounds. Others allege that the deaths of two workers were related to the denial of medication...
Nike paid for the latest report with a $7.8
million grant. Little, the alliance chairman, said Nike has acted in
good faith to solve the problems.
96 pct of workers questioned said that while their salaries were above the regional minimum wage, they were "not adequate to meet workers' increasing cost of living."
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The workers complained of verbal and physical
abuse, including sexual harassment against female
workers, forced overtime and deprivation of their
rights, including access to health care. Their
salaries, while above the official minimum wage
level, hardly cover basic physical needs, the
report says...
For decades, this country has compromised too many its principles protecting workers for the sake of economic growth and business profits. Now it's time for a new and more humane approach. The Global Alliance report is not only an eye-opener, it is also a wake-up call for this country to get its act together for the protection of workers' rights.
Jakarta Post, Monday, February 26, 2001.
Editorial- Postcard from a factory
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What kind of salary increase would $7.8 million mean to 115,000 Nike workers in 30 factories receive assuming an average daily wage of $1.25 per day?
In places like Australia, Europe and North
America there is relative freedom to criticize
corporations and governments and to campaign for greater democracy and accountability. Its easy for
those of us who live in
|
Here is the sign-on letter:
We Protest the Arrest of
Indonesian and International Activists We, the undersigned, would
like to express our gravest concern over the
forcible dispersal of the Asia Pacific Solidarity
Conference Against Neoliberalism in Jakarta,
Indonesia, on the afternoon of June 8, 2001. The conference was organized
by the Indonesian Center for Social Reform and
Emancipation (INCREASE) and attended by
participants from around the world. The conference was convened
to discuss workers' rights and the impact of the
Asia Pacific economic crisis. On June 8, at 2 p.m. Jakarta
time, 300 police surrounded the conference venue
and 100 armed police stormed the venue and shut
down the conference. The police took 40
participants, including conference organizers and
32 foreign attendees, by truck under arms to the
Jakarta Regional Police Headquarters. Twenty-four
hours later, 32 people representing 12 countries
were still in police custody, including a
four-year-old child. Following the police's
closure of the conference and removal of foreign
guests, civilian militias attacked the remaining
participants as they were leaving the conference
site. Two conference attendees were injured and
one was hospitalized as a result. His or her
condition is currently unclear. The timing of this
vicious attack raises the possibility of police
collusion We consider the detention of
conferences attendees and the violent attacks on
Indonesian participants to be unlawful and a clear
attack on free speech, the right to assemble, and
labor rights. We are committed to defending
workers rights wherever and whenever they are
threatened. We therefore condemn the
Indonesian police's closure of the conference and
its suppression of democratic discussion. We furthermore demand that
the Indonesian government: 1) ensure the safety of
Indonesian activists organizing for workers'
democratic rights in the Republic of Indonesia;
and 2) sanction no reprisals against Indonesian
participants involved in these activities. Sincerely, To sign on to this statement
e-mail nodetention@hotmail.com |
The material was
provided by:
Tim Connor Coordinator, The NikeWatch Campaign |
August 29, 2001 - Report from Keadys' most recent trip to Indonesia. Download PDF file (7 pages).
More information see http://www.nikewages.org
April 30, 2001
MONITORING
DEBATE in The New York Times between Global Alliance and
Press for Change Monitors about Indonesia
ADIDAS - Indonesia
CONTACT:
PT HANDSUMTEX CONTACT: SEE FULL LIST -- See ADIDAS List |
NOTE: there are Adidas factories in Indonesia (see PT PANARUB, Co. Ltd below) that are not DISCLOSED by Adidas. It is in these "hidden" factories where the plight of working women is kept secret from the consuming public.
Adidas attacked for Asian
'sweatshops' MEPs told of Dickensian conditions in
Indonesia
Andrew Osborn in Brussels Guardian, Thursday November 23, 2000
(CCC)
- A UCM investigation into conditions at Tuntex and two other
factories - Tainan and Nikomas Gemilang - alleges that
employees face "extraordinarily high financial
sanctions" if they make mistakes or are late for work.
UCM also claims that sexual harassment and verbal and physical
abuse are rife. Workers at the Tainan factory are, UCM says,
threatened with the sack unless they work overtime, and are
locked up if they refuse. It also alleges that children as
young as 14 are working illegally. Adidas yesterday denied the
vast majority of the allegations. "These allegations are
based on old facts. We don't use child labor and we pay above
the minimum wage," Jan Runau, the company spokesman,
said. "We have nothing to hide and we are confident that
our suppliers are following our business practices." He
added that Adidas was maintaining a special team to check that
suppliers adhere to the firm's code of conduct. (NOTE: Funny
thing is, as Far as I know, Adidas does not have a Code of
Conduct).
ADIDAS - (Clean
Clothes) In the Indonesian political condition
developing at this moment, the attendance of other independent
labor organizations will not be allowed, other than the labor
organizations controlled by the Government. Even though in
Indonesia the law in effect (1945 constitution, Article 28,
Law No. 18/56, ILO Convention Nr.98>, guarantees liberty of
organization. Out of the 7 sport shoe producer sub-contracting
companies of export quality being in the interest of this case
study, only 1 company, i.e PT. IS that produces Adidas shoe
has a labor organization controlled by the company (SPSI . All
Indonesian Workers Organization>. The other six companies
prohibit, even hinder the forming of labor organization, even
though labor organization is acknowledged by the government,
i.e. SPSI.
ADIDAS CODE OF CONDUCT - One Woman's Story, The Case of Ms. Ngadinah.