SUKABUMI, Indonesia - Workers making Converse sneakers in Indonesia say supervisors throw shoes at them, slap them in the face and call them dogs and pigs. Nike, the brand's owner, admits that such abuse has occurred among the contractors who make its hip high-tops but says there is little it can do to stop it.
Dozens of workers interviewed by The Associated Press and a document released by Nike show that the footwear and athletic apparel giant has far to go to meet the standards it set for itself a decade ago to end its reliance on sweatshop labor.
That does not appear to explain abuses that workers allege at the Pou Chen Group factory in Sukabumi, some 60 miles from Jakarta - it didn't start making Converse products until four years after Nike bought Converse. One worker there said she was kicked by a supervisor last year after making a mistake while cutting rubber for soles.
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"We're powerless," said the woman, who like several others interviewed spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear of reprisals. "Our only choice is to stay and suffer, or speak out and be fired."
The 10,000 mostly female workers at the Taiwanese-operated Pou Chen plant make around 50 cents an hour. That's enough, for food and bunkhouse-type lodging, but little else. Some workers interviewed by the AP in March and April described being hit or scratched in the arm - one man until he bled. Others said they were fired after filing complaints.
"They throw shoes and other things at us" said a 23-year-old woman in the embroidery division. "They growl and slap us when they get angry.
"It's part of our daily bread."
Mira Agustina, 30, said she was fired in 2009 for taking sick leave, even though she produced a doctor's note.
"It was a horrible job," she said. "Our bosses pointed their feet at us, calling us names like dog, pig or monkey." All are major insults to Muslims. Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim nation.
At the PT Amara Footwear factory just outside Jakarta, where another Taiwanese contractor makes Converse shoes, a supervisor ordered six female workers to stand in the blazing sun after they failed to meet their target of completing 60 dozen pairs of shoes on time.
"They were crying and allowed to continue their job only after two hours under the sun," said Ujang Suhendi, 47, a worker at a factory warehouse. The women's supervisor received a warning after complaints from union members.
Indonesia is Nike's third-largest manufacturing base, after China and Vietnam, with 140,000 workers at 14 contract factories. Of those, 17,000 produce its Converse line at four factories.
