Nike Inc. agreed to extend shoe production contract by two years with two
Indonesian suppliers to settle conflict that broke when the US sportswear giant
planned to cease orders due to quality issues, an executive said yesterday.
"This (the extension) is the best solution between me and Nike," said Hartati
Murdaya, who owns local shoe factories PT Hardaya Aneka Shoes Industry (HASI)
and PT Nagasakti Paramashoes Industry (NASA).
Nike earlier planned to stop orders for the two companies by the end of the
year, a move that prompted thousands of workers to take to the streets in
protest against Nike.
The two companies together have some 14,000 workers.
"I first asked (Nike) to retain orders for at least the next 30 months so
that we have time to help workers move to other companies. Anyway, this
extension is a progress," Murdaya was quoted by leading news website Detikcom as
saying.
She said the two companies got confirmation from Nike over the weekend.
The Indonesian government has maintained its stance that the dispute was
business-to-business and it would not intervene.
