Postcard from a factory

All is certainly not well in factories producing Nike shoes in Indonesia. A recent survey, by Baltimore-based Global Alliance for Workers and Communities, of more than 4,000 workers in nine Nike-contracted factories revealed some disturbing facts.

The workers complained of verbal and physical abuse, including sexual harassment against female workers, forced overtime and deprivation of their rights, including access to health care. Their salaries, while above the official minimum wage level, hardly cover basic physical needs, the report says.

While the picture portrayed is far from the image of a sweatshop that is often associated with factories in Asia, it is still an image that no sane mind can accept. The thought of an Indonesian factory worker being subjected to this type of abuse is in marked contrast to the Nike "Just Do It" ads promoting expensive shoes, often using top athletes like Michael Jordan.

It is just as well that the report was commissioned by Nike Inc., one of the founders of Global Alliance, which reportedly paid $7.8 million for the study. Ever conscious of its image and reputation, Nike has been at the forefront in setting benchmark standards for factory workers in countries where it operates, including here in Indonesia.

In Indonesia, which is Nike's second largest operation in Asia, the company has been active in promoting employee welfare, including the establishment of after-hours schools for adult workers at Nike-contracted factories to complete their secondary education. The company has also started a microcredit program to promote small enterprises in communities where it operates.

The company has introduced health schemes for workers, but as the Global Alliance report says, apparently workers have not had full access to this facility.

While Nike does not have its own factories in Indonesia, it places orders with more than 30 factories that have a combined workforce of 115,000, to produce sports shoes, clothing and sports equipment. Most of the companies producing Nike goods are joint ventures involving South Korean and Taiwanese investors. With most of the products being sold abroad, Nike's purchases mean about $750 million in exports earnings to Indonesia.

All of these impressive facts and figures, which have given Nike a good reputation in Indonesia, have now been undermined by the Global Alliance report.

It is, therefore, comforting to hear that Nike's headquarters have promised remedial measures. It is even more comforting that Nike is not considering pulling out of Indonesia, an option which would mean unemployment for, not only the hundreds of thousands of people directly employed by Nike-contracted factories, but also millions of others who work for Nike suppliers. It is, nevertheless, an option that would be used should the companies fail to comply with the changes required by Nike.

As we wait for Nike to implement the remedial programs, it might be valuable for the rest of us to look deeper into the Global Alliance report and question whether these abuses only occur within Nike-contracted factories, or whether they occur in other factories across the country. The fact that these abuses have been going on undetected, even by companies with strict supervision standards like Nike, let alone the authorities, suggests the worst-case scenario: That this is a postcard from a typical factory in Indonesia.

The factories surveyed by Global Alliance are not Nike factories; they just happen to produce Nike shoes. For all we know, they could be producing alternative brand or non-brand products tomorrow if Nike terminates its contract.

The report reaffirmed what we have known for a long time about the sad condition of industrial workers in this country. That workers' rights are not fully protected by law, and that even if there was a law, supervision is inadequate, while enforcement is even worse -- to the point of being almost non-existent.

For decades, this country has compromised too many its principles protecting workers for the sake of economic growth and business profits. Now it's time for a new and more humane approach. The Global Alliance report is not only an eye-opener, it is also a wake-up call for this country to get its act together for the protection of workers' rights.