Nike's commitment<\/p>\n
The article titled Nike workers in RI an issue in Olympics,
\npublished in The Jakarta Post on Sept. 5, 2000, does a disservice
\nto your readers and to Indonesian business.<\/p>\n
Nike has been committed to improving work place conditions in
\nIndonesia for several years, and will continue these efforts
\ndespite attempts by publicly declared critics to find ways to
\ngenerate negative news coverage of our efforts. At the very
\nleast, your readers deserve to know that Mr. Keady is a principal
\nin a lawsuit filed against Nike in the United States almost a
\nyear ago, and that he publicly stated before coming to Indonesia
\nthat his intention was to expose poor treatment of our contract
\nfactory workers.<\/p>\n
Given his mission, is it, therefore, surprising that he
\n\"found\" exploitation, intimidation and harassment of workers? You
\nshould note that he has not provided specific information that
\nwould allow independent clarification. And what did he ignore?
\nHere are a few of the things Indonesian factories making Nike
\nproducts are doing, and have been doing, in some cases for years,
\nsome of which the Post has reported on.
\n * Together with the Indonesian Ministry of Education and our
\nfactory partners, Nike is providing an after-hours education
\nprogram for workers who have not completed their formal
\nelementary, junior and senior high school studies. This program
\nhas been praised by the government of Indonesia as a step forward
\nin eliminating illiteracy.
\n * While being sensitive to the local economic condition and
\nissues, our footwear factory contractors have increased minimum
\nwages above the locally mandated wage four times in the past two
\nyears, as well as eliminating the lower training wage and
\nproviding benefits and supplements for workers so that they are
\nbetter able to support other family members, including children.
\n * Nike contract factories have begun the implementation of an
\noccupational health care survey in cooperation with International
\nSOS. The survey assesses the occupational health issues at the
\nfactory, as well as the function of the factory medical clinic.
\nInternational SOS then makes recommendations and works with the
\nfactory to address the areas found to need improvements.<\/p>\n
* In late June 2000, Nike provided on-site factory visits and
\nfacilities so that local non-governmental organizations (NGOs),
\nsome of which have been highly critical of Nike, could receive
\ntraining in how to monitor health and safety issues. More than 40
\nrepresentatives from various local NGOs and workers unions
\nparticipated.<\/p>\n
These are very difficult times for all Indonesians. We are
\nproud of the efforts our factory partners have made. While other
\nmultinationals chose to leave, Nike publicly declared its
\nintention to stay and support stability and job creation here.
\nMore than 110,000 Indonesians work in 11 footwear, 13 apparel and
\nthree equipment factories making Nike products, which we believe
\nis a significant factor in helping this country and its people
\nbuilt a future.<\/p>\n
With leadership comes responsibility, and while we acknowledge
\nthat our process is not perfect, the reforms that have taken
\nplace, and the lengths to which we've gone to ensure compliance
\nand monitoring are as accurate as possible, demonstrates our
\ncommitment to continuous improvement.<\/p>\n
TONY NAYA<\/p>\n
Manufacturing General Manager<\/p>\n
Nike Inc., Indonesia<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/nikes-commitment-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }