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World Cup: Adidas backs down on support for sacked Indonesians

The sportswear giant Adidas has reneged on its promise to demand the reinstatement of 33 workers dismissed from a big Indonesian supplier in a way the country's human rights commission has found to be illegal, Oxfam alleged on Thursday.

Several top players, including the World Cup captain of France, Zinedine Zidane, wear the German company's boots and promote footwear made at the Indonesian plant, Panarub.

"Adidas is the top sportswear sponsor at the World Cup," said an Oxfam campaigner, Kelly Dent. "But off the field the company deserves a red card for failing to support the human rights of workers."

Oxfam alleges that Adidas promised formally to press Panarub, after Indonesia's human rights commission ruled on May 31, in a non-binding decision, that there were insufficient grounds to dismiss 33 workers after a strike.

William Anderson, Adidas' regional head of social and environmental affairs, said Adidas was not willing to send a formal warning to Panarub, which supplies it with 650,000 pairs of shoes a year.

"If we do and the company refuses to comply, we would have no choice but to terminate relations with them. Eleven thousand people could then lose their jobs," he said.
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