Enhancing workers' life

Enhancing workers' life

A groundbreaking study on the concerns and aspirations of
4,500 workers in nine Nike contract factories in Indonesia has
just been released by an alliance of foundations, private
companies and international institutions. It is part of a
significant effort to improve workplace experiences and life
opportunities for assembly line workers in these factories.

In a Feb. 26 editorial in The Jakarta Post (Postcard from a
factory), the paper correctly described the report as "an eye-
opener". We believe it is, not only for what we learned about
these workers' everyday lives and future aspirations, but also
what it reveals about the fundamental challenges of global
manufacturing supply chains. It is relevant to every country and
to every factory engaged in global manufacturing worldwide.

This study was released by the Global Alliance for Workers and
Communities and conducted by the Center for Societal Development
Studies at Atma Jaya Catholic University in Jakarta. Workers who
participated in the study were asked -- many for the first time
-- about workplace conditions, family life, health concerns and
hopes for the future. Some of what these workers had to say is
extremely troubling to the Alliance and its corporate members,
but there was also much to be encouraged by. The bottom line is
that these findings are not unique to Nike contract factories
alone. They could be told about hundreds of the world's best-
known brands and companies, in countless countries around the
world.

What also needs to be said very clearly is that the
participation of these factories, their management and the
workers themselves in this initiative takes courage. These
actions reflect a serious commitment on the part of Nike and its
contract-factory managers to improve workers' lives. Not many
global companies, and few factories in Indonesia, have taken this
unprecedented step of opening up their factories to such an
independent interview process, knowing the results -- both
positive and negative -- would be shared publicly. They should be
commended for setting a new standard of openness and honesty --
which should be the model for factories not only here in
Indonesia but around the world.

The most critical issue here is what is going to be done to
address these challenges in the workplace, and to meet workers
needs and aspirations? This Indonesia study will be the
foundation used to design and deliver programs and other
opportunities for the workers to enhance their lives -- both on
the job and in their communities. This includes programs that
address harassment, workers' medical leave, overtime violations
and grievances. Nike has already developed a detailed remediation
plan that will ensure progress is made in these areas.

From this experience, Global Alliance and its partners are
more convinced than ever that we must listen to workers' voices,
provide a platform for them to air their concerns, and engage
them directly in shaping their own futures. We've also learned
that progress can only be made when companies and factories have
the courage to be open about workers' concerns and have the
resources and commitment to respond to their needs.

In the end, this is not a Nike story or an Indonesian story.
This is part of a much larger story about the enormous
opportunities that exist to improve the lives of workers engaged
in global manufacturing, and the emerging role that global
companies and their local partners can -- and must play -- to
promote those efforts.

RICK LITTLE

Chairman

Operating Council

for the Global Alliance

for Workers and Communities