18:43:59 local time 
INDONESIA
* Indonesian garment industry receives human rights trial:
Tomorrow marks the start of the fourth People’s Tribunal, a human rights trial held by garment workers’ unions and human rights groups to hear evidence of systematic human rights abuses in the Indonesian garment industry.
The People’s Tribunal in Indonesia is the fourth of its kind to be held in Asia, the former being held in Sri Lanka, Cambodia and India.
Supplier factory owners, government and industry representatives, multinational brands and over 140 factory workers will give evidence in front of a panel of judges from several continents on the topic poverty pay and poor working conditions.
Wages below poverty levels are a ongoing problem in the Indonesian garment industry, with an average monthly minimum wage for garment workers of around €82, which is only 31% of a living wage enough to support a family.
Evidence has been gathered which demonstrates issues such as illegal compulsory overtime, inhuman productivity measures, wage theft, systematic denial of social security payments, sexual harassment and gender discrimination, and active suppression of the right to freedom of association.
“A living wage is the cornerstone of decent working conditions,” says Emelia Yanti from the Asia Floor Wage Alliance. “Paying a living wage has a positive effect on the reduction of overtime and malnutrition. It means workers have the choice to refuse work due to unsafe working conditions and it means they can take time off for ill health.”
International workers’ rights group the Clean Clothes Campaign will also participate in the tribunal and will urge governments and global buyers sourcing from Indonesia to take the findings seriously.
“With this tribunal we hope to see some real commitment from big brands buying from Indonesia to start addressing the real needs of their workers – a living wage should be at the root of these policies,” said Mirjam van Heugten, Clean Clothes Campaign International Secretariat.
“A living wage is a human right. You simply cannot claim to be a sustainable company as long as wages fail to meet the basic needs of workers and their families.”
To follow the tribunal as it happens:
Tumbler: http://asiafloorwage.tumblr.com/
Facebook: facebook.com/asiafloorwage
to read.
* PERMANENT PEOPLE’S TRIBUNAL ON LIVING WAGES:
Giving workers a voice
As part of the Asia Floor Wage Alliance Worker Tribunals have been taking place across the region given workers an opportunity to share their expereinces and speak with government and brand represenatives around the issues they face due to poverty pay in the garment sector.
The tribunals have been held in conjunction with the Permanent People’s Tribunal and have gathered testimony from workers, trade unions and experts.
Tribunals have taken place in Sri Lanka, India and Cambodia,
and between June 21- 24 2014 the next tribunal will take place in Indonesia.
read more.
Follow on Twitter: @AFWIndonesia
(this page will be updated during the Tribunal)
20140620
PROGRAM
INDONESIA PEOPLE’S TRIBUNAL ON MIMIMUN LIVING WAGE AND DECENT WORKING CONDITIONS
for Garment Workers as a Fundamental Right
21-24 June 2014, Jakarta
Day One: Indonesia Tribunal Hearing Saturday, 21 June 2014
8:00-9:00 Arrival of participants and registration
9.00-9:15 Opening Ceremony/welcome Introduction and Objective by host
9.15-9.45 Welcome from Indonesia trade union (FSBI, GSBI, SPN, SBSI 92, KSBSI ,Garteks)
9.45-10.00 Introduction of the judges- Description of Process
10.00-10.15 Introduction of the Petition
10.15-10.35 Tea break
10.35-10.55 Wokers Case 1 On gender discrimination
10.55-11.15 Workers Case 2 On insufficient wages and impact on workers
11.15-11.35 Workers Case 3 On long working hours
11.35-11.55 Workers Case 4 On the problems of contract employment
11.55-12.15 Workers Case 5 On the violations regarding freedom of association and collective bargaining
12:15- 13.00 Lunch
13.00-13.30 Summing up
13.30-14:05 Expert 1: Indonesia political economic overview and garment industry related to labour wages
14:05-14:40 Expert 2: Policy on garment industry
14.40-15.15 Expert 3: Indonesia Labour law pertaining to Garment Industry
16.15-16.50 Expert 5: Practice of Contract Labour system in garment industry
16.50-17.25 Summing up
Day Two 22 June 2014
8.00-9.00 Registration of participants
9.00-9.35 Expert 6: Brands and Living Wage
9.35-10.10 Expert 7: Jobs with Justice’s view on view on Walmart purchasing practices and the brand’s possibility of supporting Living Wage
10:10-10.35 Tea break
10.35-11.10 Expert 8:Global Supply Chains in garment industry and example in Indonesia
11.10-11.45 Expert 9: H&M purchasing practices and the brand’s possibility of supporting Living Wage
11.45- 12.20 Expert 10: ADIDAS purchasing practices and the brand’s possibility of supporting Living Wage
12.20-13.20 Lunch
13.20-13.55 Expert 11: AFW is doable
13.55-14.30 Stakeholder : Brand 1
14.30-15.05 Stakeholder: Brand 2
15.05-15.40 Additional comment by Brands
15.40-16.15 Summing by People’s Advocate
Day Three 23 June 2014 : Judges’ Deliberations
Day Four 24 June 2014
9:00-9.30 Registration of participants
9:30-11.30 Press Conference :Announcement of Observations and Recommendations by the Tribunal Panel of Judges
11.30-13.00 Lunch
Notes:
Judges:
Dr. Gianni Tognoni
Professor Gill H. Boehringer
Haris Azhar (Kontras)
Lita Anggraini
People Advocates :
Ashim Roy
Alghifari Aqsa
Asfinawati
Brands invited:
H&M, Adidas, Nike, Gap and Walmart
20140624
* Indonesian wage trial: human rights violations ‘systemic’:
After a two-day public hearing, the jury of the People’s Tribunal to assess human rights abuses faced by workers in the Indonesian garment industry, announced its verdict today.
Judges found overwhelming evidence of ‘systematic violation of the fundamental right to a life lived with human dignity’ in an industry employing mostly women and said ‘urgent action must be taken’ by a variety of stakeholders.
The jury stressed the fact that a living wage and freedom of association are imperative to sustain a global garment industry which respects human rights of garment workers.
They acknowledged that ‘in recent years some progress has been made in tackling the challenges faced by workers in an industry dominated by a small number of buyers’, however they expressed grave concerns for ‘the lack of urgency and transparency’ among the brands.
Mirjam van Heugten from Clean Clothes Campaign says: “A living wage is the cornerstone of decent working conditions. If garment workers are still living in poverty, which we know they are, no brand can claim that they are truly a sustainable company. The fact that brands have become ‘manufacturers without factories’, does not mean they can shirk responsibility for the human right violations of the women who stitch their clothes.”
The judges described in detail the immediate actions to be taken by global brands and pointed to the fact that a living wage is an enabling human right that must be an inherent part of any sustainable corporate accountability framework.
They also expressed great concern for the existing legislation making suspension of the minimum wage a relatively easy process in Indonesia, and ‘one that is not uncommon’.
read more.
Workers protes to adidas representatif on Indonesia Peoples Tribunal
to see.
20140622
* Day 2 of the People’s Tribunal on living wages:
Expert #1 Doug Miller, emeritus professor in labour right in fashion.
The first presentation is from emeritus professor in labour right in fashion at the Design School at the Northcumbria University in the United Kingdom.
Between 2000 and 2008 he was director of research at the International Textile Garment and Leather Workers Federation, now part of global union IndustriALL, where he worked on frameworks on wages.
Doug Miller speaks about how brands externalise the problem of wages by shifting the focus away from the buyer-driven nature of the economics of buyer-supplier relationships. In other words: they shrink responsibility by outsourcing their production.
—–
Erica Smiley, Campaigns Director for Jobs with Justice, talks about the continuous lack of respect of US garment giants GAP and Walmart for the workers stitching the clothing they sell in the US.
— Erica Smiley, Campaigns Director of Jobs with Justice.
——-
— Erica Smiley, Campaigns Director of Jobs with Justice.
——
— Expert Jeroen Merk shows how the UN Guiding Principles Framework relates to the issue of living wages.
——-
Expert #4 Malin Kjellqvist
from the Fair Trade Center in Sweden wonders how H&M can live up to their promises of paying a fair wage when there’s no mention of any amount in their roadmap.
—–
“No, we have never done that.”
Payal Jain from H&M
responds to questions about wages, freedom of association and other working conditions.
— After explaining H&M’s roadmap to a fair living wage, Payal Jain, social sutainable responsible” from H&M admits H&M never attempted to calculate a concrete amount for a living wage since 1997.
—–
The placards say ‘adidas don’t lie’
The adidas representative sparks a spontaneous protest from the audience when she says ‘no factory is perfect’ after being asked to responds to yesterday’s allegations on wage theft and violence from garment worker Kokom.
——-
— Expert Ashim Roy from the New Trade Union Initiative in India submits his arguments to the jury.
20140621
“The majority of workers employed in the Indonesian garment industry is female. It is these women who create profit for the supplier companies and brand owners.”
— Emelia Yanti from the Asia Floor Wage Alliance and Secretary of GSBI.
* First workers case #H&M:
Oji Sakhroji from the SBSI ‘92 testifies on cases of gender based discrimination in PT Rismar Daewoo Apparel, a factory where H&M is a buyer.
Supplier of H&M dismisses pregnant workers, according to a very emotional garment worker Oji Sakhroji during the Tribunal.
Article 5 of an employment contract at PT Riswan Daewoo Apparel:
“Especially for female workers, during the first year of employment contract are not allowed to get pregnant. When a female workers is pregnant, then she would be asked to resign, and the third party is not obliged to pay any compensation.” H&M is a buyer from this factory.
* Second worker’s case: wage theft #Nike:
“In 2013, 949 companies in Indonesia were recorded to have proposed suspension of the minimum wage to the governor, and no less than 669 companies received permission to for this suspension,” says Emelia Yanti from the Asia Floor Wage Alliance.
Garment worker and union chair Kokom Komalawati recalls how, at PT Panarub Dwi Karya (adidas supplier), due to the high targets workers who tried to pray, take some water or go to the toilet, would see their workload increased after returning.
—–
Workers from the factory where adidas was a buyer show placards saying: “In every pair of adidas shoes there is unpaid workers right.” The protest comes as garment worker and union chair Kokom Komalawati states how adidas’ supplier failed to pay back wages and violently broke a strike.
The right to a living wage: A living wage should be earned in a standard working week (no more than 48 hours) and allow a garment worker to be able to buy food for herself and her family, pay the rent, pay for healthcare, clothing, transportation and education and have a small amount of savings for when something unexpected happens.
Workers who see the Nike tags going through their hands don’t have access to the legal system if Nike does not have a formal relationship with the factory.
* Indonesian garment industry faces human rights trial:
June 21st, 2014, marks the start of the fourth People’s Tribunal, a human rights trial held by garment workers’ unions and human rights groups to hear evidence of systematic human rights abuses in the Indonesian garment industry.
The People’s Tribunal in Indonesia is the fourth of its kind to be held in Asia, the former being held in Sri Lanka, Cambodia and India.
Supplier factory owners, government and industry representatives, multinational brands and over 140 factory workers will give evidence in front of a panel of judges from several continents on the topic poverty pay and poor working conditions.
Wages below poverty levels are a ongoing problem in the Indonesian garment industry, with an average monthly minimum wage for garment workers of around €82, which is only 31% of a living wage enough to support a family.
Evidence has been gathered which demonstrates issues such as illegal compulsory overtime, inhuman productivity measures, wage theft, systematic denial of social security payments, sexual harassment and gender discrimination, and active suppression of the right to freedom of association.
read more.
________________
To be continued.
