New WRC Report: PT Kizone (Indonesia)

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To:WRC Affiliate Universities and Colleges
From:Scott Nova and Jessica Champagne
Date:January 19, 2012
Re:New WRC Report: PT Kizone (Indonesia) 

Please find here a new WRC report on labor rights violations at PT Kizone. As you know, the WRC has issued several dispatches to affiliates concerning this case, which involves non-payment of legally mandated compensation to more than 2,500 workers. The attached report provides:

  • substantial additional detail on the events at the factory, the exact amounts legally owed to workers and the basis on which these benefits are calculated, the underlying legal context of the violations, and the impact on workers and their families; 
  • an update on the response of each university licensee that sourced from the factory; and
  • an assessment of the arguments underlying adidas’ claim that it should not be held responsible for code of conduct violations at the factory.

As the report discusses, there are 2,686 former employees of PT Kizone who are still owed more than $1.8 million in compensation they legally earned. Further action by licensees will be essential if these violations are to be corrected and the workers paid in full. We are particularly concerned about the response of adidas, which is now the only university-related buyer that has refused to make a financial contribution to the workers and which continues to maintain that it has no obligation under university codes of conduct to remedy these violations.

We will continue to monitor the case closely and will report to you as developments warrant. As always, please contact us with any questions or thoughts about this report.

Scott Nova 
Worker Rights Consortium 
5 Thomas Circle NW 
Washington DC 20005 
ph 202 387 4884 
fax 202 387 3292 
[email protected] 
www.workersrights.org