Nike workers upset over allegations<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The worker's union of one of the 11 Nike
\nsubcontractors in Indonesia on Friday denied the allegations
\naired by antiexploitation activists at the Sydney 2000 Olympics.<\/p>\n
In a statement made available to The Jakarta Post, the
\nworker's union of PT Pratama Abadi Industri said the accusations
\nwere groundless since none of the firm's 8,000 workers are
\ncurrently facing such unfavorable conditions.<\/p>\n
\"Salaries, health protection and work safety have been
\nproperly guaranteed by the company,\" said the statement, which
\nwas signed by the union's chairman, Marjuli and its 11 other
\nexecutives.<\/p>\n
\"It would definitely be different if our salaries here were to
\nbe compared with those (people working in the same field) in the
\nUnited States because the cost of living is totally different.<\/p>\n
In other words, the union said, an American like Jim Keady,
\nwho leads a comfortable lifestyle in the States, would of course
\nface difficulties trying to survive here on the basic salary of
\nan Indonesian worker.<\/p>\n
The union executives were referring to a former soccer coach
\nin America, who urged athletes competing in the Olympics on
\nMonday in Sydney, to visit Nike factories in Indonesia to see the
\napparent failure of the world's giant shoe producer in protecting
\nworkers' rights in its Indonesian factories.<\/p>\n
Keady claims to have visited Indonesia last month and tried to
\nlive on the wages of a Nike worker -- which he said was about Rp
\n10,000 (US$1.20) a day.<\/p>\n
\"You can survive, but you cannot live,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"It's a starvation wage. I know, I starved on it. I lost 25
\npounds and spend most of the month painfully hungry and
\nexhausted,\" said Keady, who left St. John's University in the
\nUnited States over a dispute about his refusal to wear Nike
\nproducts and is suing Nike with regards to his resignation.<\/p>\n
Keady said workers in Indonesia were \"absolutely
\nflabbergasted\" when they found out how much athletes were paid
\nfor endorsements.<\/p>\n
\"They begged us to bring these athletes to their homes to see
\nhow they are forced to live, to see how they are forced to
\nsurvive, how they don't make enough money to feed their
\nchildren,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Keady and other antiexploitation activists also released a
\nreport which documents claims of intimidation and harassment of
\nunion workers and women in the 11 factories, which has a total
\nworkforce of 70,000, contracted to make Nike shoes in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
The Community Aid Abroad-Oxfam Australia report, based on
\ninterviews conducted with industrial union organizers in
\nIndonesian factories, said workers were threatened with violence
\nif they tried to join unions, that union members were fired for
\nsmall mistakes and that women were intimidated into not applying
\nfor menstrual leave by being required to undergo humiliating
\nexaminations.<\/p>\n
But the union workers of PT Pratama Abadi Industri, one of the
\n11 subcontractors, emphasized that none of the allegations are
\ntrue of their plant.<\/p>\n
\"Female workers taking leave during the menstrual period don't
\nfeel threatened because of the trust between the employees and
\nthe company,\" the union said.<\/p>\n
Globally, Nike has 708 factories operated by contract
\ncompanies and employing about 550,000 people.<\/p>\n
In Indonesia, it has been operating for almost 12 years with
\nmost of its subcontractor factories, which includes PT Astra
\nGraphia, PT Hardaya Aneka Shoes Industry and PT Nagasakti Parama
\nShoes Industry, are located in Tangerang, west of capital
\nJakarta.<\/p>\n
No statements from workers or managements of the other
\nfactories could be obtained.<\/p>\n
The 11 factories produce between 45 million and 55 million
\npairs of shoes per year with only 2 percent going to the local
\nmarket. The rest are shipped to overseas markets, particularly
\nthe U.S. (bsr)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/nike-workers-upset-over-allegations-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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