Workers urge Nike not cut shoe orders from Indonesia

Thousand of factory workers protested the shoemaker scrap plans to cut orders from two local suppliers outside the headquarters of Nike Indonesia during a one-day strike Monday.

Workers said 14,000 jobs will be threatened if Nike reduces orders from producers PT Hardaya Aneka Shoes Industry and Nagasakti Paramashoes Industry.

Protesters wearing blue uniforms waved banners saying "Nike Lies" and "To Hell with Nike."

Nike could not immediately be reached for comment. A local newspaper, Bisnis, reported Saturday that Nike planned to cut orders from the two companies.

A representative of the workers said talks between the management and the workers were under way.

Agus Darsono, a floor supervisor at one of the two manufacturers, said around 10,000 people were expected to take part in the protest.

"We reject Nike's plans to cut production," he said over the din of chants from the crowd gathered at the Jakarta Stock Exchange where Nike has its offices.

Nike plans to reduce orders at Nagasakti Paramashoes Industry from 650,000 pairs per month to 200,000, he said. "That production cut could send us home."

He said Nike claims the factory no longer meets quality standards and is inefficent, "but the quality of our shoes is good. Workers have been trained at the factory in Vietnam," he said.