Postcard from a factory

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.