Reebok hires advisers to meet workers' needs

Reebok hires advisers to meet workers' needs

By Tertiani Z.B. Simanjuntak

JAKARTA (JP): Worker unrest at large factories is a headache
for management and causes productivity to plummet.

To head off such problems and improve awareness of workers'
rights, Reebok International, the sports shoe manufacturer based
in Boston, the United States, hired a local firm to anticipate
potential problems and discover the desires of workers at two of
its subcontractors' factories in Bekasi, east of Jakarta.

The 14-month study, which was completed last month, cost
US$35,000 and resulted in the two subcontractors -- PT Tong Yang
Indonesia and PT Dong Joe Indonesia -- making significant changes
at their factories and in their treatment of their approximately
10,000 employees.

The two factories manufacture over 75 percent of the Reebok
shoes made in Indonesia.

In its final report, Insan Hitawasana Sejahtera (IHS) said the
changes made by the two subcontractors based on its findings and
recommendations helped ease unrest at the factories and boost
productivity.

The manager of Reebok's Human Rights Program, Jill Tucker,
told a group of journalists at the factories last week the IHS
final report was aggressively publicized by the shoe company.

"By sharing the report, we hope it can have a positive impact
on the entire athletic footwear manufacturing industry in
Indonesia," Tucker said.

IHS divided its survey into three stages: interviewing workers
and making on-site observations; listing and handing over the
results of the interviews and observations, along with its
recommendations, to the subcontractors' management; and
evaluating the changes made by the subcontractors.

During their survey, the IHS team interviewed at least 500
workers, including managers and labor union officials.

The survey looked at the relationship and communication
between workers and management, the treatment of female
employees, safety procedures, wages, overtime pay and workers'
associations.

The IHS team included safety experts, financial auditors,
experts on human rights and an industrial hygienist.

"To make our findings truly independent, our team had full
access to factory records and workers without intervention from
our client or the factories' management," said team leader
Mayling Oey-Gardiner, who is also the executive director of IHS.

Problem

Mayling said the only problem faced by his team was the
workers' lack of knowledge of their rights.

"Although they know how to read and write, they hardly
understood the meaning of the questions on our questionnaires,"
she said.

During the journalists' tour of the factories, the changes
which had been made based on the IHS recommendations were on full
display. The improvements included newly installed incinerators,
more comfortable chairs for seated employees and specially
designed chairs for pregnant women.

The factories have also provided appropriate protective
equipment for workers, including protective glasses, masks,
earmuffs and gloves.

Combined with a two-week work rotation, labor union training
and sexual harassment awareness classes, the changes have
improved working conditions, Mayling said.

Her opinion was echoed by employees at the factories.

A female employee in the assembly division of Tong Yang
factory, Cici Sumiati, attested to the significant improvements
at the plant.

"Conditions are different now. Workers' health and safety
always comes first. The management sanctions workers who don't
wear safety equipment," Cici said.

She also said the factory was now using less dangerous
chemicals and equipment. "Now we use water-based glue instead of
the smelly glue. The old glue made it hard to breath," she said,
adding that she hoped the improvements would be maintained.

Heny, a group leader in the cutting division of the same
factory, said the company no longer pushed sick workers to reach
their production targets for the day.

"It doesn't matter anymore. They can take a rest or sick leave
and it will not effect their record," she said. "Their health is
more important."

Mayling said IHS would continue to assess conditions in the
factories.

"We'll keep on making recommendations and suggestions to the
factories and monitor the measures they take."

Tong Yang general manager Fendi Sumarto said both his company
and Dong Joe spent $1 million implementing the changes
recommended by IHS.

It is hoped that similar measures to improve the welfare of
employees, who are a company's partner in business, will be taken
by other firms. A healthy relationship between companies and
employees will, after all, help improve productivity, which in
turn could attract more investors to the country.