Tae Hwa Indonesia – a case-study of labour conditions in the sportswear industry

New research revealing inadequate wages, high levels of compulsory overtime, impossibly high work targets, denial of trade union rights, sexual harassment and verbal abuse at the PT Tae Hwa Indonesia factory (hereafter "Tae Hwa") demonstrate the urgent need for reform of labour conditions in the global sportswear industry.

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In March 2004 Oxfams, Global Unions and the Clean Clothes Campaign launched a campaign on this issue titled Play Fair at the Olympics. In response, sports brands are considering whether to cooperate on a "program of work" aimed at bringing labour abuses in the industry to an end.

This case-study shows what is at stake. Based on interview and focus group research conducted in July 2004 it reports serious infringements of workers' human rights at Tae Hwa, which employs approximately 5,250 workers, most of them women, in the production of sportshoes for FILA and other brands in Tangerang, West Java in Indonesia. FILA accounts for between 70% and 90% of orders . Problems include:

Sexual Harassment and Verbal Abuse:
Women working in the Sewing Department at Tae Hwa report regularly having seen and experienced supervisors poke women workers and call them insulting names such as “pig”, “monkey”, "devil", “stupid” and "shameless girls". They report that supervisors stare at some women in a disturbing manner and slap them on the buttock and touch them in other inappropriate ways. Several women cited examples of supervisors throwing solid shoe parts at workers in anger, including one example in July 2004 where a supervisor threw a solid shoe part at the stomach of a pregnant worker. The woman caught the shoe before it hit her but was distressed by the incident.

Inappropriately intrusive policies:
Under Indonesian law women who are to ill to work because of their menstrual period are entitled to two days paid sick leave. Women working at Tae Hwa report that in order to claim this leave women must have their underwear inspected by the clinic nurse – a process which is so humiliating that most workers forego this leave.

Inadequate Wages:
Wages for a standard work-day are Rp. 26,705 (US$2.93) which is too low for workers to meet their living costs and so they are dependent on income from working overtime. Standard wages are so low that workers have to work for an hour to earn enough to pay for a kilogram of rice, for two hours to earn enough to pay for a kilogram of eggs and for ten hours to earn enough to pay for a kilogram of beef.

Compulsory Overtime:
Workers in the Sewing Department report that during the peak season they are frequently required to work from 7am until 8 or 9pm, and that two or three times a month during this season they will work from 7am until 11pm in order to meet an export deadline, with only two one-hour breaks for meals. In another Department workers report occasionally being required to work from 7am until 3am the following day. This overtime is even compulsory for pregnant workers, even when they plead to be excused. Workers believe that the insecure and inconsistent nature of FILA's ordering practices contributes to the very high levels of overtime.

Impossibly high targets
Women in the Sewing Department report that their targets are deliberately set so high that it is impossible to meet them within standard working hours. As a result women in this section usually have to give up part of their lunch break and work two hours unpaid overtime after standard work-hours in order to meet the target.

Denial of Trade Union Rights
Workers interviewed for this case-study report that the "union" in the factory is neither democratic nor representative of worker's interests. Workers who have tried to organise industrial action or establish an independent and democratic union have experienced discrimination and intimidation. One such case is that of Parkati who in 1998 was one of the key organisers of a two-day strike. Workers report that hired thugs broke up the protest and visited Parkati's house late at night. Tae Hwa dismissed Parkati in 1999, ostensibly for wearing shoes 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. Her treatment has made a powerful impression on her colleagues and operates as a strong disincentive to union-organising. As one worker said: “Other workers saw Parkati’s example and they thought ‘If what happened to Parkati happens to me where will I go and what will I do to earn my living?’”

It should be emphasised that Tae Hwa has not been selected for this case-study because conditions are worse than in other sportswear factories or because FILA is a particularly irresponsible brand. Previous research conducted by Oxfams, Global Unions and the Clean Clothes Campaign and released in March 2004 in the Play Fair At The Olympics report indicates that labour abuses are a problem across the sportswear industry and need to be addressed collectively by all sports brands.

In fairness it should be recognised that in some respects conditions in Tae Hwa are better than in many of the Indonesian sportswear factories investigated for the Play Fair At The Olympics report. Notably, the factory meets Indonesian labour regulations regarding maternity leave and sick leave and employs the great majority of workers on a permanent basis which workers strongly prefer as compared to temporary work.

Like other sports brands, Fila should work with organisations involved in the Play Fair At The Olympics alliance to ensure that workers' rights are respected at Tae Hwa, and at other workplaces in its supply-chain. Persuading Tae Hwa to reinstate Parkati would be an important first step.

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