Reebok left limping
Hash | 06.02.2002 11:22
Sports company left limping: An Indonesian human rights activist has turned down a $50,000 award from US sportswear giant Reebok.
Dita Sari, head of the National Front for Indonesian Workers Struggle (FNPBI), said that she was unable to accept Reebok's annual Human Rights Award because of the low wages paid by its subcontractors to third world workers.
While Indonesian workers earn $1.50 a day and live in poverty, Reebok collects millions of dollars of profit every year, she explained.
'We surely hope that our stand can make a contribution to help changing the labor condition in Reebok-produced companies.' [No Logo].
Reebok said it was working to improve labour conditions in its factories around the world. It hopes that other global companies will adopt the same approach.
'We understand Dita Sari’s drive to achieve the same goal in her own unique way, and Reebok applauds her efforts.' [Codagroup].
Reebok will now present three awards on Friday as part of the Olympic Arts Festival in Salt Lake City.
The 2002 winners include an advocate for abused children from Zambia, a rescuer of child prostitutes from India, and a civil rights activist from the United States.
Since 1988, when it was first set up, the Reebok programme has given awards to 68 human rights activists from 35 countries.
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international appeal to raise the $50,000
13.04.2002 19:34
There are various Indymedia posts on this
e.g.
but look at the No Sweat website
The appeal is in English in RTF format at
If you can help us translate it (French is covered, German and Spanish are being done) please get in touch too at
Cheers
No Sweat!
No Sweat UK
e-mail:
admin@nosweat.org.uk
Homepage:
http://www.nosweat.org.uk
emergeny motion for nus conference
13.04.2002 19:37
conference 2002.
Please support it!
For more information on the international appeal refered to in the motion go to
The text of the appeal itself is available as a .RTF file (for opening in all kinds of
word processing or dtp programs on PCs and Macs) at
For more details email
NUS Conference emergency motion
*No to sweatshop labour - solidarity with workers and students in Indonesia*
Conference believes
1. That over the last few months, Indonesian trade unionists and students have
been subject to increasing violence from the police, the military and armed
Islamic fundamentalist gangs
2. That gay organisations (mainly fairly prosperous groups of gay men, meeting
largely for social purposes) have also been attacked
3. That in early March, the FNPBI, Indonesia’s independent (not-state) trade union
federation, put out an international appeal for solidarity
4. That Dita Sari, chair of the FNPBI, was recently awarded the Reebok
Foundation's Human Rights award, due to be presented at the opening of the
Winter
Olympics in February
5. That Dita refused the award, rightly seeing it as an attempt by Reebok to
whitewash their record on workers' rights and pointing out that the money had
been
sweated from workers earning poverty wages in the Indonesian garment industry.
Conference further believes
1. That the conditions in which Indonesian workers live and work are often
appalling, and that they have every right to organise to fight for improvements
without fear of violence or persecution
2. That No Sweat has launched an international appeal to make up the $50,000 the
FNPBI lost by turning down Reebok’s award, including a target of £5,000 to
be raised in the UK by the summer.
Conference resolves
1. To condemn in the strongest terms all attacks on workers and students for
trying to organise, and on the lesbian, gay and bisexual community simply for
offending religious reactionaries.
2. To donate £1000 to the FNPBI as part of the international appeal and mandate
the NEC write to them and to the press publicising NUS's support.
3. Twin with the FNPBI's student federation and publicise their activities on the
NUS website and in NUS publications.
4. To support the No Sweat campaign and donate £500 to it
5. To mandate the NEC to ensure that NUS only deals with companies which
allow their workers to organise independent trade unions.
To print this motion, a printer-friendly version is at
For more information on the international appeal refered to in the motion go to
The text of the appeal itself is available as a .RTF file (for opening in all kinds of
word processing or dtp programs on PCs and Macs) at
No Sweat UK - students
e-mail:
kat@nosweat.org.uk
Homepage:
http://www.nosweat.org.uk/sections.php?op=listarticles&secid=1