"A group of Indonesian nongovernmental organizations with a solid record in workplace monitoring has submitted a proposal to monitor conditions in Nike's factories. Nike refused. They have too much to hide.
Nike in Indonesia company seeks repressive situations. Update and analysis by Campaign for Labor Rights.
East Timorese human rights activists Jose Ramos-Horta and Bishop Carlos Ximenes Belo are to share this year's Nobel Peace Prize. The announcement draws attention to the repressive Suharto regime in Jakarta, Indonesia.
In honoring the Timorese laureates...the Norwegian Nobel Committee issued a blunt attack on the Indonesian government, accusing it of "systematically oppressing the people" of East Timor. New York Times
The Indonesian government's repression extends to more than East Timor. It also is directed at its own workers. According to Max White [coordinator of Justice Do It Nike and recently returned from a Global Exchange fact-finding trip to Indonesia] transnational shoe companies routinely bribe military officials in return for a guarantee that an armed contingent will be no more than 10 minutes away from their factories in the event of any labor unrest.
Such is the context of repression that Nike seeks out when deciding where to place new production facilities. Nike claims to do magnificently by its Indonesian workforce. Its own workers think differently. When Nike workers attempt even the most minimal organizing on behalf of their rights, Nike's contractors call in the military. A group of Indonesian nongovernmental organizations with a solid record in workplace monitoring has submitted a proposal to monitor conditions in Nike's factories. Nike refused. They have too much to hide.
Two years ago, when President Clinton visited Indonesia, he glossed over human rights problems, arguing that the best way to spread deomocracy and improve human rights is through increasing trade. Recent stories in the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal reveal more about Clinton's motivation in doing business with the Jakarta regime. Clinton and the Democratic National Committee have been on the take for campaign donations -- buckets of money -- from Indonesian companies and individuals. If some of these donations were not outright illegal, they certainly violated the spirit of the law. In one case, the Democrats accepted $425,000 funneled through an Indonesian gardener here on a green card. So, Clinton and the Dems got the money; the Indonesians and the transnationals got the trade; meanwhile, Nike's workers and the East Timorese are still waiting for their human rights situation to improve.
Nike has never been accused of lobbying for repressive governments. They don't have to. The U.S. Government, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund do the dirty work for companies like Nike. Then Nike takes advantage of the situation. That's why that little label you find inside the Nike shoes is likely to say: Made in Indonesia, or Vietnam, or China.
Nike is riding high these days. They are making record profits. They can't make shoes fast enough to fill their orders. [That, by the way, translates into forced overtime for its production workers.] But Nike has a problem. People are starting to find out the truth behind the ad images. An international campaign is getting out the word about Nike's labor practices. Nike management is nervous.
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