Join the Indonesian workers in their struggle to change the garment industry in Indonesia, and give them your support in this case.

Over a year ago, 26 workers at the PT Mulia Knitting Factory in Jakarta, Indonesia formed a union to fight the factory's violation of their rights. The factory refused to pay female workers their pregnancy and miscarriage leave and failed to offer transportation for female workers after the night shift. In addition, the factory had failed to pay mandatory health and pension benefits, often did not provide adequate safety equipment and kept workers on precarious, temporary contracts.

As soon as the union leaders announced the formation of the SBGTS union to the factory management, the union president was suspended and three other union officials dismissed. Fifteen other union officials and members were called into the office, and given the choice between renouncing the union or being transferred to another factory located at such a great distance that a commute would be impossible. As a consequence, these workers were dismissed for not showing up at their newly assigned workplace.

For more details, please check http://www.workersrights.org for a report by the Worker Rights Consortium's detailing evidence that these union leaders and members have been subjected to targeted, unlawful discrimination.

At the same time, the factory filed cases against the union for using the address of the factory in the union's letterhead (a common practice in Indonesia) and tried to make the labour ministry revoke the SBGTS official register number.

Since then, the union has been fighting for reinstatement and filed cases with the labour ministry and Indonesia's National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) to defend the right to freedom of association. On April 7, 2008 the Commission issued its recommendations after having met with both the union and PT MKF management, concluding that the union rights of the 19 workers who were dismissed after joining SBGTS had been violated. But when the union called on the local labour department to follow up on this recommendation, the local authorities, who have a reputation for being management-friendly, disregarded the Commission's ruling and decided in favour of the company.

Since then, the situation has remained deadlocked. The company continues to refuse to meet with the union and instead sent its law firm to deal with the severance payment for the nineteen dismissed workers.

The CCC contacted the buyers of the factory and urged them to take action in support of the freedom of association. While one of the buyers, Phillips Van Heusen, has pushed for reinstatement of the 19 workers, and tried to get the other buyers on board, Tommy Hilfiger and Polo Rauph Lauren have sat idly by while the 19 workers struggle to feed their families. Polo Ralph Lauren has never responded to CCC. Tommy Hilfiger informed the CCC that it had conducted an audit in January 2008, but it refrained from speaking to the workers involved and instead only consulted the management-backed union, SPSI. Tommy Hilfiger refused to take any follow-up action to date.

Unfortunately this is not an isolated case. Time and again, urgent cases of labour violations in Indonesia reveal the abuse of short-term labour contracts and the pervasive infringement on workers' freedom of association, their right to organize and bargain collectively. The Clean Clothes Campaign and Oxfam Australia call on all brands sourcing from Indonesia, and in particular Tommy Hilfiger and Polo Ralph Lauren, to implement sector-wide solutions to ensure that workers in Indonesia are guaranteed their rights and are treated with the respect and dignity they deserve. See "Sector-Wide Solutions for the Sports Shoe and Apparel Industry in Indonesia."

March 12th 2009 NOTE - We will soon update this appeal. Right now there is no standing request to write letters to these companies.
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Join the Indonesian workers in their struggle to change the garment industry in Indonesia, and give them your support in this case by writing to Tommy Hilfiger and Polo Ralph Lauren to ensure that their supplier:

•  Immediately reinstates the 19 workers at their previous positions (including rights and length of service) with payment of the outstanding wages and social premiums since the date of dismissal/suspension/transfer.
• Respects the right to freedom of association and recognizes SBGTS-GSBI as one of the unions at PT MKF, including respecting the rights of SBGTS-GSBI to organize members within the factory. Intimidation and criminalisation of PT MKF workers who are willing to join the SBGTS-GSBI union should be ceased immediately.
• Proactively adopts and posts a "Freedom of Association Policy" for all their facilities, which includes the statement that management will not use transfers/ demotions/ or promotions as a means to deter a worker from affiliating and/or participating in the union of their choice.
• Meets in person with SBGTS-GSBI to resolve the outstanding labour issues
• Pays wages to the 19 dismissed workers while the legal process runs its course.