Nike blames partners for recent strikes

JAKARTA (JP): Labor strikes and protests that recently took place at several Nike footwear factories in Tangerang, West Java, stem from problems at the workplace, not from the labor policies of Nike Inc., a company executive said.

Martha Benson, director of communications for Nike International Ltd.'s Asia Pacific office, said yesterday Nike had a code of conduct which, unless violated, would guarantee Nike's production partners respected their workers' rights.

"What we have been doing from day one, in looking at which partners or factories to work with, is placing high standards on production," she said.

"Not only in terms of the quality of the output that we can get from those factories but also in terms of the working conditions," she said.

Benson said Nike had set up the code of conduct in 1992. It has been updated regularly.

In the last couple of years, worker strikes and protests have hit several production facilities of international branded footwear, including Nike.

The most recent one in April involved some 10,000 workers of Tangerang, West Java-based PT Hardaya Aneka Shoes Industry which makes footwear exclusively for Nike.

The workers took to the streets in protest of what they said was the company's failure to meet the minimum government-set wage.

Benson said Nike worked under a system which involved Nike's production managers, who were at the factories everyday, independent audits and a labor practices department.

"Production managers have been really helpful for us in putting forward suggestions on improving workplace conditions. And even though that's not their job, they've been good ambassadors for change, for Nike," Benson said.

Nike's decision to establish a code of conduct in 1992 resulted from the company's rapid growth, she said.

"We felt it was important.. to have a set of standards that our production partners would adhere to," she said.

"Part of that was a result of rapid growth and we wanted to make sure we could evaluate them. So if there was anything going on that we weren't happy with, we'd have a good reason to sit down and discuss it with them," she said.

She said production partners were evaluated on an on-going basis on their adherence to the code of conduct.

She acknowledged that new partners, particularly those that had been producing for another brand, were often reluctant to comply with Nike's code of conduct at first.

"But because Nike's orders are fairly consistent, and because they often get slightly higher margins from Nike, they're willing to do a little bit extra and abide by the code of conduct," she said.

Repeated violations by a partner, she said, could effect the amount of orders they received from Nike.

"These are business people and their best interest is in generating orders so they can make profits. So they don't want to do anything that's going to effect the amount of orders they get from Nike," she said.

"If they have to work with a different customer whose orders fluctuate a lot more, it's harder for them, because they know they can consistently get a number from Nike. They'll work to meet that," she said.

"It's not 100 percent airtight but it has been very effective," she added.

Benson said that last year, 36 percent of Nike's footwear was produced in Indonesia, 34 percent in China, 20 percent in Taiwan and Korea, 3 percent in Vietnam and 3 percent in Thailand and the Philippines.

Nike has been in Indonesia since 1989. It currently has 12 facilities in Indonesia, some of which produce exclusively for Nike and others which share their facility with Nike's competitors -- other international brand names -- like Reebok and Adidas. (pwn)