On December 16, 1999, I wrote a letter to Mr. Phillip Knight, Chairman and CEO of Nike Inc. In that letter I urged the re-instatement of an employee who had been fired for his union activities, by a firm which subcontracts with NIKE in Indonesia. I’m sure my letter was one of many that went to Mr. Knight from around the world.

I reminded Mr. Knight that NIKE is a founding member of the Fair Labour Association, and as such, has committed to respect workers’ freedom of association.

The good news is that the employee has apparently been reinstated. The bad news is that, according to the Urban Community Mission in Jakarta, Indonesian NIKE workers are still subjected to poor treatment and very low wages. The same survey indicated that 77% of them made less than .00 US a day as a basic wage.

Bill Blaikie, MP