Worker abuse claims at Nike

SUKABUMI, Indonesia -- Workers making Converse sneakers in Indonesia say supervisors throw shoes at them, slap them in the face and call them dogs and pigs. Nike, the brands owner, acknowledges that such abuse has occurred among the contractors that make its hip high-tops but says there was little it could do to stop it.

  Nike says nearly two-thirds of the factories that make Converse products fail to meet its standards for contract manufacturers but insists it cannot address many of those problems because many factories operate under contracts that were set before Nike bought Converse in 2003.

  Dozens of workers interviewed by The Associated Press and a document released by Nike show that the footwear and athletic apparel giant has far to go to meet the standards it set for itself a decade ago to end its reliance on sweatshop labor.

 That does not appear to explain abuses that workers allege at the Pou Chen Group factory in Sukabumi, some 60 miles from Jakarta -- it didnt start making Converse products until four years after Nike bought Converse. One worker there said she was kicked by a supervisor last year after making a mistake while cutting rubber for soles.

"Were powerless," said the woman, who like several others interviewed spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear of reprisals. "Our only choice is to stay and suffer, or speak out and be fired."

The 10,000 mostly female workers at the Taiwanese-operated Pou Chen plant make around 50 cents an hour. Thats enough, for food and bunkhouse-type lodging, but little else. Some workers interviewed by the AP in March and April described being hit or scratched in the arm -- one man until he bled. Others said they were fired after filing complaints.