Central Java Gender Justice Agreement

After organizing against gender-based violence and harassment on the factory floor, courageous women workers in Central Java, Indonesia, have negotiated a groundbreaking agreement to implement a union-led gender justice program. Signed in July 2024, the Central Java Agreement for Gender Justice represents a major victory for workers at two garment factories operated by the Korean multinational Ontide. These factories, which employ 6,250 workers, produce US university logo apparel and other branded sportswear for major US brands, including Fanatics, which sources both its own products and, under license, Nike-branded apparel from the factories. Worker leaders from four unions (SPN, SPSI, and KASBI at PT Batang Apparel Indonesia, and SPSI at PT Semarang Garment Indonesia) came together to negotiate this agreement, supported by the Worker Rights Consortium (WRC), Asia Floor Wage Alliance (AFWA), and Global Labor Justice (GLJ).

In 2021, women workers bravely reported the systematic gendered abuse they faced at work to the WRC, which conducted investigations at both factories. At that time, the factories were under different ownership, and the company was known as Kukdong. The WRC's in-depth reporting made clear the need for both immediate action to address the situation - and the need for a supply chain agreement to drive deep change at the factories.

The resulting binding agreement establishes a  program to create a workplace free from violence and harassment. The agreement incorporates global labor standards on gender-based violence and harassment (GBVH) and includes key provisions such as worker-led education and training for all employees, union-appointed shop floor monitors, multi-channel grievance mechanisms, protections against retaliation and for freedom of association, survivor-centered and timely investigations and remedies, global coordination dialogue, and enforcement by university licensors.