Nike sued in Asia
By John Gauci
A Reuters article published on the Internet on April 20 reports that lawyers have filed a civil suit charging Nike Inc. with lying about "sweatshop" conditions in its shoe factories in Asia.
Filed in the San Francisco Superior Court, the suit accuses Nike of violating California's consumer laws by willfully misleading the public about the working conditions of the hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese, Chinese and Indonesian labourers who produce Nike footwear.
The suit alleges that, contrary to statements by Nike, Nike factory workers in Asia are regularly subject to physical punishment and sexual abuse; often exposed to dangerous chemicals; forced to work overtime, sometimes without pay; and often do not obtain a "living wage", despite work days that can be 14 hours long.
"Nike has failed to tell Californians the truth about their business practices", said suit lawyer Alan Caplan. "They are telling California consumers that they are doing everything right. They are using deception for profit."
Nike spokesperson Vada Manager said on April 20 that the company had no immediate comment and was reviewing the allegations.
During protest actions in Sydney on April 18, part of the international day of action against Nike sweatshops, sales staff at various Nike outlets presented Nike's "Informed Consumer Update" leaflet to protesters. One of the many claims in the leaflet is that the working conditions for all Nike employees, in all its sub-contracted factories, is protected by the company's "zero tolerance" policy on exploitation.
When the protesters responded by presenting sales staff with an alternative leaflet outlining the horrendous work practices operating in Nike factories in Asia, one salesperson commented, "We have only ever been told about how wonderfully Nike treats its workers".