> INTERNATIONAL CONFEDERATION OF FREE TRADE UNIONS (ICFTU) > > ICFTU ONLINE... > 110/970425 > > INDONESIA AND VIETNAM: MORE ACCUSATIONS AGAINST NIKE > > Brussels, April 30, 1997 (ICFTU OnLine): In a factory in the > outskirts of Jakarta which makes shoes for the US multinational > Nike, 10,000 workers demonstrated last Tuesday to demand an > immediate pay rise to reach to the minimum wage. The management > at the factory (PT Hardaya Aneka Shoes Industri) initially > refused, which led to stronger action by the workers. The > factory was forced to close at the weekend and the management > finally agreed to pay the monthly minimum wage. > In Vietnam, some 800 workers, mainly women, at the Korean Sam Yan > Co. factory, which also makes shoes for Nike, went on strike last > week to protest at their working conditions and wages. > In recent months several independent sources have denounced the > serious violations of workers' rights by the five Nike factories > in Vietnam (three South Korean and two Taiwanese). Wages below > the legal minimum for the first three months, strictly controlled > access to toilet facilities, a maximum of two glasses of water > per working day, verbal abuse, sexual harassment and corporal > punishment are all practices denounced in these factories. A > supervisor at the Taiwanese factory Pou Chen Corp. found himself > before a Vietnamese tribunal at the end of March for forcing 56 > women workers to run 4km around the factory for not wearing > regulation work shoes. Twelve of the women workers had to be > taken to hospital. It is the second time that a manager at a > factory working for Nike in Vietnam has been charged with > ill-treating women workers. Last year, a supervisor at the > Korean Sam Yang Co. factory, a Nike sub-contractor, was convicted > for hitting his Vietnamese women employees over the head with a > shoe. > Following the latest accusations, the Nike management simply > stated that it could not confirm the events but that it was > prepared to work with independent observers to examine and > improve working conditions in its overseas factories. In 1992, > Nike adopted its own code of conduct, but did not agree to > independent monitoring. Last year, Nike created its own > department responsible for supervising the application of its > code of conduct and charged former US ambassador Andrew Young > with studying and evaluating improvements to be made to the code > of conduct and supervisory mechanisms. The Nike code of conduct > makes no mention of the freedom of association and the right to > collective bargaining. > Only two weeks ago, Nike finally complied with the code of > conduct drawn up by the Clinton administration aimed at > eliminating exploitation in clothing factories. The initiative > received a cautious welcome from the international trade union > movement, which points to the absence of monitoring mechanisms. > The latest revelations in the Nike factories in Vietnam and > Indonesia have underlined the need for such caution. > "Given the increasing number of workers' rights violations by > Nike sub-contractors in recent months, it is hard to avoid the > conclusion that that the code of conduct policy is just a public > relations exercise" says Neil Kearney, General Secretary of the > international textile workers (ITGLWF). > Nike's abundant profits (four billion dollars are forecast for > 1997) are based on the huge profit marge between the cost of > producing the shoes and their sale price on the market. To > safeguard its profit margin at all costs, Nike has transferred > production to the lowest wage coufntries and to those where > legislation gives the least protection for workers' rights. Nike > wins every time. Workers and consumers are the losers. > For details contact ICFTU Press at ++322 224 02 12 or the > International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers' Federation > (ITGLWF) Tel.:++32-2-512-26-02. Other OnLine news on Poptel > Bulletin Board ICFTU-Online for geonet users and on the WWW > at:http://www.icftu.org > > > > > > >
