Good news in MSP case: union activists reinstated in Thailand

23 March 2005

Dear Friends,

First of all we would like to thank everyone who sent protest letters to Nike, Decathlon and MSP management, calling upon them to respect the union's right to freedom of association. Your continued pressure has provided invaluable support for the dismissed union organizers in their dispute with MSP management.

On March 16th, the Thai Labor Relations Committee voted in favor of re-instatement of the two workers pursuing their case in court, but failed to grant them their back pay. Official confirmation is still pending, and expected to follow on March 24th.

On March 18th a meeting took place between CLIST (Centre for Labor Information Service and Training, the Thai organization supporting the union activists) and Nike, where an agreement has been reached where all three workers will be offered reinstatement, including full back pay to the date of dismissal for two of the workers (the third one accepted settlement money which came to a higher amount). On a related issue, CLIST also requested Nike to urge MSP to reinstate another unjustly dismissed union activist, Mrs. Maneerat Srimahaphan, as a gesture of good will and to build trust on both sides. This worker at the MSP factory was also dismissed for her union activities. So far, Nike has said that this request would be dealt with separately and that it would try its best to arrange for Ms. Srimahaphan's reinstatement.

The agreement further includes the development of 'Terms of Engagement' that will be developed with input from all parties concerned: workers, management, buyers and Thai labor officials. The FLA (Fair Labor Association) will further develop these Terms of Engagement, and they will apply to the protection and reinstatement of the workers, their reintegration and any follow-up work that needs to be done. The Terms of Engagement will include rules of behavior for all parties concerned (MSP management, external parties, brands, dismissed workers, general MSP workers, and any other workers' organizations or workers' representatives at MSP). A neutral third party will be identified, with the consent of all parties, to facilitate a sustainable solution to prevent the recurrence of labor disputes at MSP.

Upon request of CLIST and the union, who are satisfied with this result, the Clean Clothes Campaign will be suspending its campaign in support of the MSP workers, and we call upon all of you who participated in the campaign to do the same and adapt your websites and action plans.

While the Clean Clothes Campaign welcomes the steps taken by Nike, at the same time Nike should be criticized for unnecessarily prolonging this dispute. There were numerous opportunities for Nike to intervene by enforcing its code of conduct and insisting that MSP reinstate the dismissed workers. Instead, the dismissed workers and their union colleagues still working in the factory faced great hardship in what can only be seen as an attempt to break the union. Nike should learn from this dispute and take its own code of conduct seriously.

On a similar note, Decathlon's role in this dispute can only be described as disgraceful and disappointing. This French company sourcing at MSP refused to disclose the results of any investigation it conducted at the factory and in the end, Decathlon concluded that since freedom of association was not in their code of conduct, they were in no way responsible to take action to reinstate the dismissed workers.

CLIST, the union and CCC expect that the process presently agreed upon will mean that MSP management shows a change in attitude and behavior to the three dismissed workers and other union supporters an to ensure that the ongoing harassment of the union activists still employed at the factory will now end. Management will guarantee that all workers are treated fairly and with respect by supervisors and by their co-workers, and anyone acting otherwise will be disciplined. The reinstatement and reintegration of the dismissed workers will be carried out peacefully and the rights of all workers will be respected.

Together with CLIST and the union, the Clean Clothes Campaign will continue to closely monitor the reinstatement process at the MSP factory and keep our network informed of any developments.

Once again want to thank all of you who worked with us to realize this positive outcome! Please keep supporting us on these cases because your letters do make a difference.