An update on the adidas campaign in Indonesia
In November adidas announced that it expects to grow annual revenues by almost 50% to approximately
$23 billion AUS by 2015. Despite this prosperous outlook, the company has shown little generosity to the women and men making adidas’ products on poverty wages.
Workers at adidas’ Panarub supplier first asked for an increase to their meal allowance two years ago. Since then, the price of basic goods in Indonesia—particularly food—has continued to rise. Yet the factory has refused to provide the extra 80 cents a day that unions have requested. Adidas will not take any responsibility for the issue, stating “we will not become a party to internal negotiations”.
You can write your message of support for these workers below.
In September the workers held a demonstration to draw attention to the inadequacy of the food allowance and other concerns regarding pay and union access. According to union officials, they had little opportunity to negotiate before the demonstration was violently dispersed by police.
In other news concerning the same factory, thousands of international labour rights supporters continue to wait for a response from adidas CEO Herbert Hainer regarding the rights of unfairly dismissed union leaders from the same adidas supplier factory.
The letters explain that if adidas can spend millions of dollars sponsoring individual athletes, it needs to do more to value the women and men who have worked for years making adidas products in Asia.
Thousands of people are calling on adidas to:
1. Ensure the job applications of each of the above-mentioned former union leaders are processed according to transparent, objective criteria as soon as possible.
2. Ensure all Adidas suppliers, including Ching Luh, implement transparent and fair recruitment systems, which process all applications according to objective and relevant criteria.
3. Guarantee the freedom to organise. Ensure workers are free to organise unions and bargain collectively at all Adidas suppliers.
4. Ensure full-time wages are at least adequate to meet the basic needs of workers and their children.
5. Promote factories that uphold workers rights and provide incentives to your supplier factories that respect the human rights of workers and Adidas’ own code of conduct.
We’ll keep you posted on any developments.
Support a decent meal for workers?
If you support a decent meal for workers, leave a comment below which we can pass on to factory employees at Panarub.
Visit blog: adidas stop wearing us out
Unfairly dismissed Panarub worker Hamdani has been waiting several years for adidas to fulfil its promise to support his future employment prospects. In the meantime, Hamdani’s family struggles to cope against rising costs of living. (Images: Timothy Herbert/OxfamAUS)
