"Distribution of food vouchers does not mean that Adidas' hands are clean”

On September 13, 2012, the President of Cornell University in the United States stated that starting October 1, 2012, Cornell University would cut its contract with Adidas. The reason was that Adidas had not carried out its responsibility to ensure that about 2700 workers from PT Kizone International received their severance.  PT Kizone closed in February 2010. As one of the brands that produces collegiate apparel in the U.S., Adidas has to fulfill the rights of the workers that produce its products.  Receiving severance when a factory closes is, in Indonesia, a basic right that must be fulfilled when a factory closes, by the factory or by the brand. Nike has already paid one million U.S. dollars, and the Dallas Cowboys have already paid $55,000.  Adidas has refused to pay the remaining US$1.8 million, the amount still legally owed to workers. 

The contract cuts at U.S. universities are spreading, and right now the University of Wisconsin in the U.S. is taking Adidas to court because the company has violated the Kizone workers' rights. In October 2012, there were simultaneous actions in multiple countries to demand that these workers' rights be fulfilled, including an action in Indonesia.

The fact that Adidas has given more [food] vouchers does not mean that they are stopping our struggle to win our rights, the US$1.8 million dollars that we are owed by Adidas.  We need this money to pay our debts, to pay our children's school fees, and to provide for other needs that [food] does not supply. We accept these [food] vouchers not because they are sufficient, not because they meet our needs, but because the financial squeeze on our families is worse and worse.  

We write on behalf of the Kizone workers to say that we are not satisfied with these [food] vouchers. We need money to take care of our families' economic situations, which are getting harder and harder.  Providing these [food] vouchers does not mean that Adidas has cleaned its hands of its obligations, or that we will stop our struggle to receive everything we are legally owed, US$1.8 million.

In solidarity,

The former Kizone workers