Saturday, April 09, 1994

Levi Strauss stops contract with Danastri

Andreas Harsono
The Jakarta Post

JAKARTA (JP): The San Francisco-based Levi Strauss & Co. has decided to stop placing orders with the Jakarta-based PT Duta Busana Danastri garment factory, which it believes has ignored guidelines on worker rights.

Senior manager David Samson, in a statement faxed to The Jakarta Post yesterday, said that his company has a commitment to ensure that workers are treated respectfully.

Levi Strauss & Co. is the manufacturer of Levi's and Dockers brand name products. 

As part of this commitment, Levi Strauss & Co. has traditionally shared with its contractors a set of rules that outline their expectations, he added. 

"We seek to work with contractors who obey local laws, respect workers' rights and provide a safe and healthy work environment," Samson says.

However, recent labor troubles at PT Duta Busana Danastri have shown that the company did not abide by the guidelines, thus forcing the American company "to take quick action" by terminating its contract with the Indonesian company.

Yesterday, approximately 80 workers continued their protests against the management by asking the National Commission on Human Rights to mediate a three-way meeting between the workers, the management, and the Ministry of Manpower to solve the six-month-old labor dispute.



No comments: