Fight the Heist

Author

Damian Carnell
March 10, 2023

What’s the Story?

Last month, the International Labour Rights Forum (ILRF) issued a report jointly with the Asia Floor Wages Alliance (AFWA) setting out claims for unpaid wages of $71 million owed to hundreds of thousands of low-paid workers in Asia, 70% of them women.

Fight the Heist: Asian Unions Join Forces with GLJ-ILRF & Asia Floor Wage Alliance in Campaign to Stop Nike, Levi’s & VF Corp. from Funneling Stolen Pandemic Wages toward Buybacks

Garment supply chain workers, a majority of them women, faced massive wage theft and income loss during the COVID 19 pandemic when Big Fashion brands’ like Nike canceled or drastically reduced orders en masse (as detailed in Asia Floor Wage Alliance’s (AFWA) Money Heist report).Meanwhile, Wall Street investors and owners made record profits and paid themselves millions of dollars through stock buybacks.The Nike-owning Knight family, for example, paid themselves $74 million in dividends while garment workers struggled to survive on slashed incomes.Now three years into the pandemic, garment workers who have still not recovered are demanding change from Wall Street executives, shareholders, and investors.AFWA, GLJ-ILRF and 20 Asian unions have joined forces to stop Big Fashion companies from

https://laborrights.org/blog/202302/fight-heist-asian-unions-join-forces-glj-ilrf-asia-floor-wage-alliance-campaign-stop

The missing wages comprise COVID wage amounts, unpaid overtime and unpaid layoff wages for factory closures. Even more is owed for illegal minimum wage and sex discrimination violations.

A complaint has now been lodged in the USA by some 20 Asian unions for breach of the OECD guidelines for responsible business conduct.

The OECD guidelines define how companies in developed economies should monitor for adverse impacts of their operations, and take action where these arise.

About the OECD - OECD

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is an international organisation that works to build better policies for better lives.

https://www.oecd.org/about/

Several fashion giants are mentioned, but Nike attracts particular attention. The unions are said to be shocked at Nike’s $18 billion share buyback program but also by the 2020 dividend pay-out, which paid $74 million to the founder Knight family, a sum exceeding the supply chain missing wages.

Why Does it Matter?

Nike is an outstanding company. The 2021 Impact Report sets out extensive detail on its ESG profile and purpose. In August 2020 it gave staff a week of paid leave to help ease COVID related work pressures.

The Nike wage analysis for employees shows impressively that there is zero evidence of either gender pay gap or ethnicity pay gap. There is a strong array of employee benefits including multiple aspects of wellbeing including mental wellbeing.

Fight The Heist: Big Fashion & Wall Street Cash In on Wage Theft

https://globallaborjustice.org/fightheheist/

The health and safety section of the Impact Report also references targets within the Nike global supply chain.

And yet the AFWA international coordinator is reported as saying Nike is targeted not just for its $185 billion size, but also because the company has been “unresponsive” to complaints from workers’ representatives.

This is surprising as Nike’s reputation is of importance as a consumer facing brand with thousands of direct employees. Three months ago, for example, a Nike spokesperson said “Kylie Irving is no longer a Nike athlete” when the basketball star was dropped over an anti-semitism row.

Nike is not under any contractual obligation for these missing wages, nor has its practices breached any law. But the union appeal to the OECD guidance is novel and may prompt many global companies to take a fresh look at the supply chain profile and responsibilities.

Newspoint view

The missing wages for these Asian employees is due from their employers. The Asian trade unions are rightly holding these companies to account and are using a novel tactic to increase pressure to deliver a just result.

Huge global companies with large buying power are in a position to require their supply chain to comply with the buyer’s required standards. As companies report their carbon footprint under Scope 3 this will be seen increasingly.

Nike already has a strong commitment to improving supply chain health and safety. Plainly, a safe, working environment is a minimum starting point, but well-being at work extends to other factors, such as fair pay and non-discrimination.

https://about.nike.com/en/impact/initiatives/supporting-supply-chain-health-and-safety

Much of this issue relates to global inequality. The UN sustainable development goals are also a guide to good business practice. SDG 10 is “reduce inequalities”, but SDG 1 “no poverty” and SDG 3 “good health and well-being” are also important.

Not everything can be fixed at once. The first job is to commit to making a difference then the second job is to act, and monitor the improving results.

Nike gets this, the impact report says:

“ We know that progress will not be linear, but accountability… means sharing our successes and learning from our setbacks.”

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Damian Carnell - [email protected] +44 (0) 7989 337118

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