AS EURO 2012 GETS UNDERWAY UK ACTIVISTS CALL ON ADIDAS TO PAY UP TO WORKERS!

This morning 30 activists from Labour Behind the Label, People and Planet, UK Feminista and War on Want protested outside adidas' Oxford Street store to demand they pay $1.8 million in outstanding severance pay to 2,800 Indonesia workers left unemployed following the closure of their factory in April last year.

The action was part of an international day of action in support of PT Kizone workers, which marked the beginning of Euro2012, of which adidas is the main sponsor.

adidas demo

adidas demo

Image by Lucy Barnett


In January 2011, the owner of PT Kizone in Indonesia fled, resulting in the closure of the factory in April the same year, and leaving 2,800 workers without work and the severance pay they were entitled to. adidas had been sourcing from PT Kizone for many years, where workers were paid as little as 45 pence an hour.

In July last year, other buyers at the factory, announced that they would contribute US$1.5 million to a fund to compensate workers, roughly half of the money that was owed to them. adidas, the main sponsor of UEFA and Euro2012, are refusing to pay a cent.

Adidas is the biggest sponsor of both the major sporting events of summer 2012. They paid a reported £100 million to sponsor the London Olympics and an undisclosed amount to be the major sponsor of UEFA, which includes the rights to the Euro2012 tournament, starting this week. Their sponsorship of the Spanish Football team alone is worth an estimated 25 million euro per year, their sponsorship of the German team amounts to 38 million euro per year.
 
One former Kizone worker said “This summer, adidas is paying hundreds of millions of euros, trillions of rupiah, to sponsor athletic events, meanwhile without the severance payments to support us while we search for new jobs, many of us cannot pay rent. We cannot afford to eat three meals a day. We cannot keep up with school fees We owe debt to relatives, neighbours, and money lenders. We are calling on adidas to respect our rights and pay us the money we are owed.

Lev Taylor from People & Planet said: “We're shocked by the way adidas have treated their former staff. Our student network has been campaigning on sweatshop injustices like these for years. Adidas is a huge corporation that has great responsibilities to the women that work in its supply chains. All our past experience tells us that when activists around the world unite in action, companies have to give in. We're certain that adidas will see sense and do the right thing.”

ENDS

More information on PT Kizone is available at www.labourbehindthelabel.org

- A full investigation into the violations committed by adidas and other buyers at the factory can be found at: http://www.workersrights.org/freports/WRC%20Assessment%20re%20PT%20Kizone%20(Indonesia)%201-18-12.pdf

 - Adidas signed up to be a major partner in UEFA's EUROTOP sponsorship programme in 2009. The tournaments covered by the deal include Euro 2012, Euro 2016, the European Under-21 Championship in 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2017, and the European Women’s Championship in 2013 and 2017. Adidas will create and market the official match balls for the tournaments, as well as a “broad product supply programme” to equip staff, officials, referees, volunteers, and ball-children at the tournaments. It is the first UEFA sponsor to also have retail rights for the competitions.

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