Nike in Indonesia

The Rev. Jesse Jackson’s Column Left, “Who Makes the Clothes We Wear?” (Sept. 17), was riddled with inaccuracies. The verifiable facts are as follows: The minimum wage required by the Indonesian government is 4,600 rupiah per day. The wage paid to an entry-level worker in Indonesian factories where Nike products are manufactured is 1.5 times more than the minimum wage. The wage scale can increase to as much as 16 times the minimum wage. Sixty-hour workweeks are not compulsory as Jackson would have your readers believe. In cases where workers do choose to work overtime, they are compensated at twice the normal hourly rate with all benefits, including free meals.

The story of the young woman who organized a strike to demand higher wages and was subsequently abducted and raped is a well-known case in Indonesia; however, the fact is that she worked at a watch factory some 600 kilometers from the nearest Nike facility.

If Jackson had bothered to investigate Nike production sites, he would have found facilities which offer free, on-site clinics staffed by physicians; mosques for worker prayers; clean, free housing; three free meals per day (four on overtime days); and clean, well-lit, well-ventilated work spaces.

Jackson states that in 1993, the labor cost to Nike for a pair of $80 shoes was 12 cents. His math was off by more than 10 times that amount. Jackson also claims that 1% of the Nike advertising budget could double the wages paid to Indonesian workers. The facts? In 1994, the wages and benefits paid to Indonesian workers by Nike totaled over $50 million, a far cry beyond the $2.8 million that represents 1% of Nike’s global advertising budget.

DONNA GIBBS

Director, Corporate Communications

Nike Inc., Beaverton, Ore.