Indonesian Workers Forced To Work 65 Hours A Week On Adidas Gear For Olympics

Organisers of the upcoming London Olympics have expressed concern over alleged “sweatshops” in Indonesia after an exposé by The Independent revealed that Indonesian factory workers had been working more 65 hours a week, for less than $0.60 per hour, to produce outfits for British athletes and volunteers participating in the world’s biggest sporting event.

Organisers of the upcoming London Olympics have expressed concern over alleged “sweatshops” in Indonesia after an exposé by The Independent revealed that Indonesian factory workers had been working more 65 hours a week, for less than $0.60 per hour, to produce outfits for British athletes and volunteers participating in the world’s biggest sporting event.

On Saturday, the U.K.-based paper reported how nine locally owned and managed factories in Indonesia, who were contracted to produce Olympic shoes and clothing for Adidas, had been subjecting their workers to poor working conditions, which included: long overtime hours, desperately poor pay, verbal and physical abuse, as well as an unhygienic work environment.

Furthermore, 10 factory workers who were trying to start a union to get better conditions were suspended from their jobs over a month ago, while many workers also said that they faced physical punishments for failing to meet production targets.

[quote]The violations were “making a mockery of claims by London 2012 organisers that this summer’s Games will be the most ethical ever,” said the paper.[/quote]

The report added that none of the Indonesian employees interviewed had heard of the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) base code, which is an internationally recognised labour code adopted by the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG), and none also knew about LOCOG’s complaints mechanism that were set up to enable workers to report labour violations.

“I feel proud and happy to be making Olympic goods, but the work is really hard and the supervisors try to force us to reach targets,” said Siti Hadijah, a 32-year-old female factory worker who stitches jackets, shorts, trousers and polo tees with the Olympics logo.

“It’s hard to get permission even to go to the bathroom; we’re (metaphorically) tied to our seats,” added Yuliani, a 23-year-old seamstress at another factory in Tangerang.

[quote]”If you’re forced to go, the pile of work becomes so high that you get shouted at by the production line leader. They call you a dog, brainless, uneducated. Sometimes we have to sacrifice our lunch break to reach the target.”[/quote]

Jamiatun, one of the union leaders at an Indonesian factory, also claimed that factory audits done by overseas Adidas officials were “farcical” as workers were being forced to lie when auditors came down.

“They’re always announced beforehand, so we have to clean, we have to sweep,” said Jamiatun. “The first-aid box is filled, and we’re told what to say if the inspector speaks to us. We have to tell them we’re paid the minimum wage, and we mustn’t tell them we work overtime at weekends.”

“They [the management] get people to hide in bathrooms, so there are fewer people on the production line and it looks more efficient,” added another worker named Ratna.

[quote]“If Adidas wants to ask questions, the workers are prepared beforehand with questions and answers. We can never tell the truth, otherwise we might lose our jobs.”[/quote]

In response to the claims, LOCOG has spoken to officials from Adidas, who are now promising a public investigation.

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“We place a high priority on environmental, social and ethical issues when securing goods and services and take these allegations extremely seriously,” said a LOCOG spokeswoman to AFP.

“We have spoken to Adidas and they have assured us that they are investigating these allegations, the conclusions of which will be made public.”

“We regularly remind all of our licensees of the importance we place on the sustainable sourcing code they have each signed up to.”