Back Pay Secured for Workers Denied Wages at Indonesian Factory Decorating Collegiate Goods for adidas, Columbia Sportswear, Fanatics

This case brief discusses the Worker Rights Consortium’s investigation and the remediation of violations of labor law and university codes of conduct related to the nonpayment of wages to workers by PT Dong-A Decal, a factory in Indonesia that decorates university logo apparel for the licensees adidas, Columbia Sportswear, and Fanatics.  

In May and June 2020, the Dong-A Decal factory unlawfully denied several days’ wages to 314 workers, depriving these employees of US$20,717 that they were required to be paid under both Indonesian labor law and the factory’s collective bargaining agreement with its workers, as well as, by extension, university codes of conduct.

Although, in March 2021, the factory management signed an agreement with worker representatives committing to fully correct the wage violation, the factory dragged its feet on remediation, until the WRC intervened in October 2021. However, after the WRC urged the licensees whose collegiate apparel is decorated at the factory to require the management to complete back payments owed to workers, Dong-A Decal, in December 2021, paid employees all the wages they were still owed, thereby, fully resolving the violation. As always, please let us know if you have any questions or concerns.