FILA BE FAIR TO WORKERS
AT TAE HWA, INDONESIA
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Parkati made Fila
sportshoes in the Tae Hwa factory
in Indonesia for 7 years. In 1999
she was sacked for standing up for
her rights.
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This appeal calls for your support in the
reinstatement of Parkati, a worker dismissed
from the PT Tae Hwa factory in 1999 and
in addressing labour rights violations in
the factory, including inadequate wages,
compulsory overtime, impossibly high work
targets, denial of trade union rights, sexual
harassment and verbal abuse.
Tae Hwa is a sport shoe factory located
in Tangerang, Indonesia. Workers estimate
that FILA sports shoes account for between
70% to 90% of the production at Tae Hwa.
FILA products were first made at Tae Hwa
in 1991 and the factory has consistently
produced for FILA since 1994. Other brands
that are currently being produced include
Geox, Oakley and Langford. Previously Ellese
and Post brands were produced. Shoes produced
are both exported and sold in the local
Indonesian market. The factory is owned
by a Korean company and has joint Korean
and Indonesian management. Approximately
3,500 workers are currently employed in
the factory and about 80% of the workers
are women.
In 1998 Parkati was one of the key organisers
of a two-day strike aimed to improve conditions
in the factory and establish an independent
union. Workers report hired thugs broke
up the protest and visited Parkati's house
late at night. Tae Hwa dismissed Parkati
in 1999, reportedly for wearing sandals
to work when an unwritten policy required
workers to work barefoot. Three different
levels of the Indonesian labour arbitration
system recommended Parkati's reinstatement,
but the factory appealed each decision and
finally in 2001 won a court case endorsing
their dismissal of Parkati. This discrimination
and intimidation against Parkati, who, with
others was trying to organise an independent
trade union has made a strong impression
on her co-workers and is a disincentive
to union-organising.
Parkati maintains ongoing contact with
workers at Tae Hwa who are interested in
establishing a union, but are scared that
if they do so they'll lose their jobs in
the same way that Parkati did. Additionally
workers in Tae Hwa experience inadequate
wages, high levels of compulsory overtime,
impossibly high work targets, denial of
trade union rights, sexual harassment and
constant verbal abuse.
Parkati's case was highlighted during the
global Play Fair at the Olympics campaign
and in the report of the same name which
aimed to persuade sports brands and the
International Olympics Committee to respect
sportswear workers' rights. Nike, Adidas,
Reebok, Puma, Fila, ASICS, Mizuno, Lotto,
Kappa, and Umbro were the brands highlighted.
Progress been made with some brands and
the campaign will continue post Athens and
onto the Beijing Olympics in 2008.
Internationally, campaigners have called
on FILA to support the reinstatement of
Parkati and improve conditions in the factory
by pressuring their supplier - Tae Hwa management.
In early August Steve Wynne of FILA informed
campaigners they requested Tae Hwa management
to reinstate Parkati with back pay. To date
no response to this request has been forwarded
to campaigners and Tae Hwa has refused to
reinstate Parkati.
At the same time FILA is under new management
and the new owners are claiming they can
now not do anything about suppliers producing
their products under previous licensing
arrangements as they first have to review
these arrangements. This is not good enough!
FILA has responsibility for monitoring and
compliance with labour standards and working
to remedy any violations at its current
suppliers (regardless of sourcing arrangements
they choose to make). We are calling on
FILA to prove they are serious about respecting
worker rights by meeting the demands of
workers at Tae Hwa.
July 2007, No
Response from FILA
For more than two years the CCC has publicly
called upon the US-sportswear brand FILA
to ensure proper compensation for the women
and men who lost their jobs when FILA supplier
PT Tae Hwa shut down in 2005.To date FILA
has failed to respond to our requests for
action in relation to the closure of their
Indonesian sports shoe supplier.
Please write a letter
today and fax or post to FILA urging them
to:
- Pressure Tae Hwa
Management to reinstate Parkati with back
pay;
- Work with management
and workers to resolve labour violations
in the factory, including inadequate wages,
compulsory overtime, impossibly high work
targets, denial of trade union rights,
sexual harassment and verbal abuse;
- To work constructively
to resolve these violations and continue
sourcing from Tae Hwa.
Protest e-mails should
be sent to Robert Erb at rerb@sportbrandsinternational.com
A sample letter appears
below and you can of course also write your
own letter. Remember to send copies of your
letters and any responses to: info@cleanclothes.org
-SAMPLE LETTER -
Robert Erb
Chief Marketing Officer
Sport Brands International/Fila
8 West 40th Street, 14th floor
New York, NY 10018
Dear Robert Erb,
I am concerned to
hear about the situation at the PT Tae Hwa
factory in Tangerang, Indonesia. I understand
a worker Ms Parkati was dismissed in 1999,
after 7 years of service, for allegedly
wearing sandles to work while an unwritten
policy existed requiring workers to work
barefoot. In 1998 Ms Parkati was one of
the key organisers of a two-day strike aimed
to improve conditions in the factory and
establish an independent union. During this
time it is alleged that hired thugs broke
thugs broke up the protest and visited Ms
Parkati's house late at night to harass
and intimidate her. I believe Ms Parkati's
attempt to form an independent union to
improve conditions for workers in PT Tae
Hwa is the real reason for her dismissal.
Despite having very
few resources of her own, Ms Parkati contested
her dismissal and three different levels
of the Indonesian labour arbitration system
recommended Parkati's reinstatement, but
the factory appealed each decision and finally
in 2001 won a court case endorsing their
dismissal of Ms Parkati.
I am also aware of
serious allegations of poor conditions existing
in the factory, including inadequate wages,
compulsory overtime, impossibly high work
targets, sexual harassment and verbal abuse.
Some of these may constitute human rights
violations of the workers there.
As PT Tae Hwa has
a high percentage of FILA production I am
calling on you to act responsibly and do
everything you can to intervene in this
dispute by persuading management to reinstate
Ms Parkati and resolve labour rights violations
currently occurring in the factory, while
maintaining your production. I understand
FILA is under new management and claims
they can not do anything about suppliers
producing their products under previous
licensing arrangements as they first have
to review these arrangements. If FILA intervenes
to try to resolve this dispute and support
workers efforts to form a democratic and
independent union this would concretely
demonstrate FILA's commitment to monitoring
of and compliance with labour standards
resulting in a positive image for FILA and
a great starting point for FILAs new management
to build from.
I urge you to do
everything you can to ensure Ms Parkati
is reinstated with back pay, labour rights
violations are remedied and workers are
able to form and join a union of their choosing
free from intimidation and harassment. I
look forward to hearing from you about actions
you have been able to take on this matter.
Yours sincerely
Your Name, City,
Country
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