On March 8th, workers demonstrated in support of the dismissed MSP union activists, calling on Nike to abide by its own code of conduct in dealings with the MSP factory.

Please sent protest letters to Nike, Decathlon and the management and owner of the MSP factory in Thailand, calling upon these brands to respect workers' rights and uphold their own codes of conduct.

March 2005, Good news in MSP case: union activists reinstated in Thailand

March 10, 2005

Dear Friends,

First of all we would like to thank everyone who sent protest letters to Nike, Decathlon and the management and owner of the MSP factory in Thailand, calling upon these brands to respect workers' rights and uphold their own codes of conduct.

Since our last update and action request in February, a new campaign was launched targeting the French brand Decathlon.

The French CCC distributed 7000 protest letters outlining the campaign to its members and 9000 campaign postcards were printed to put extra pressure on Decathlon to take action to call for the reinstatement of the dismissed union leaders at the MSP factory in Thailand. An additional 1200 people were reached through the French CCC's mailing list. The action request was also covered in articles written for two national French newspapers (Libération and Le Monde) and in one article in the Agence France-Presse, which has worldwide distribution. For more information, please visit the French CCC website www.ethique-sur-etiquette.org.

Talks held between Decathlon and the French CCC were disappointing and Decathlon gave no indication that it would act to uphold the right of freedom of association for MSP workers or take action to support the reinstatement of the dismissed union activists. Instead, Decathlon provided a verbal report about a brief internal unannounced inspection they conducted at MSP in February, unrelated to the freedom of association issue and the activities of the union. The company stated that the labor dispute was a matter that should be dealt with by the Thai government and the supplier. To date, Decathlon also has not issued a report of their December 2004 audit at the MSP factory.

Meanwhile, on February 16th, representatives of Nike, together with the dismissed workers and the Center for Labour Information Service and Training (CLIST), American Center for International Labor Solidarity (ACILS) and Asia Monitor Resource Centre (AMRC) met briefly in Bangkok. During this meeting, both parties stated their positions in this dispute. During the discussion it became clear that MSP management had dismissed the union activists not for reasons related to the quality of their work, but because the company believed that 'the union would destroy the company' - a totally unfounded claim.

Also discussed was the involvement of the Fair Labor Association (FLA) in the case. Nike suggested that they would consider independent mediation. The Clean Clothes Campaign is extremely dissatisfied with Nike's attitude in this dispute. In spite of the thousands of protest letters received by Nike, the company did no more than issue a reply letter containing distorted facts and excuses for not taking action to reinstate the dismissed union activists (for those of you who received this letter from Nike, please visit this page which also contains our point by point refutation of Nike's claims). The CCC was also disappointed that it has taken so long for the FLA to begin its investigation of the case, considering the complaint was filed in early January. It was reported that the FLA would begin its investigation in the first week of March.

In the meantime, MSP management established a workers’ ‘union’ in a feeble attempt to demonstrate it was not suppressing union activity. This ‘union’ was quickly and rightfully denounced as a tool of management. On March 8th, workers demonstrated in support of the dismissed MSP union activists, calling on Nike to abide by its own code of conduct in dealings with the MSP factory. CLIST also announced that the Labor Relations Committee in Thailand was debating the case and would deliver its verdict on March 15th at the latest.
A more detailed report from CLIST regarding Nike and Decathlon's codes of conduct can be found on our website

Your pressure is still needed in this case and the CCC will continue to monitor the situation and we will keep our network updated regarding any developments.

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