Nike workers earn enough, research findings say

Nike workers earn enough, research findings say

PORTLAND, Oregon (AP): Preliminary research findings from
Dartmouth College show that workers at Nike factories in
Indonesia and Vietnam earn enough to meet their basic needs with
money left over for discretionary spending or savings.

The study, paid for by Nike, is the latest effort by the
company to fend off persistent accusations of inhumane and unjust
working conditions in factories in developing nations that
produce its athletic shoes and apparel.

"The data suggests Nike workers in Indonesia and Vietnam can
more than make ends meet," said Eugene Mihaly, who co-supervised
the study by a faculty-student team from Dartmouth's Amos Tuck
School of Business.

Mihaly's comments Thursday came ahead of a series of
international anti-Nike demonstrations planned for Saturday in 50
U.S. cities and 11 other countries.

A leading Nike critic said the study was simply another public
relations move by the company in the face of continued criticism
of factory conditions that produce products under contract with
the Beaverton-based company, the world's largest athletic shoe
manufacturer.

"If they would just spend another 75 cents for a pair of shoes
on labor costs all these troubles would be solved," said Jeff
Ballinger, director of Press for Change, a group for labor issues
in developing nations.

"They are trying to spin their way out of it by saying they
are paying above subsistence level," he said. "I don't think that
when they are plunking down 75 dollars for a pair of shoes,
people are going to be satisfied with that."

The study found that the average monthly wage for workers at
its Sam Yang and Chang Shin factories in the Dong Nai province of
Vietnam is US$47 and $56, respectively. After monthly expenses of
$27 for food, clothing and other essentials, the workers have $19
to $26 for discretionary spending or savings, the study said.

According to the study, the monthly minimum wage is $35 in
Dong Nai, where the Chang Shin factory is located and $45 in Cu
Chi, where the Sam Yang factory is located.

The research found that the annual per capita income of Nike
workers at its two Vietnamese factories ranged from $545 to $566,
compared with the estimated annual per capita wage of $250 to
$300 for the country as a whole.

In Indonesia, where there are stricter wage and benefit laws,
workers at Nike factories earned an average $96 per month.

This includes overtime, in some cases mandatory. The mandated
minimum wage in Indonesia is $66 per month.

Nike said the study was conducted over several weeks using
household interviews and questionnaires distributed to Nike and
non-Nike factory workers. The cost-of-living figures were
determined by surveys of local food markets and purchasing
patterns.

"Nike has created 500,000 highly desired, good-paying jobs in
32 countries including Vietnam and Indonesia," said Nike
President Tom Clarke. "Every job vacancy attracts hundreds of
people seeking a job in a Nike contract factory."