On Monday, a boisterous crowd of former PT Kizone workers gathered to protest Adidas’ continued intransigence in the face of mounting international and university pressure for the company to pay the $1.8 million in severance it owes to its workers in Indonesia.
Instead of admitting responsibility for its subcontracted workers and correcting the violation, as university codes of conduct require, Adidas has thrown its spin machine into overdrive in an attempt to distract attention from the ongoing crisis with the former PT Kizone workers.
Just last week, the company announced plans to hold a summit in Switzerland to discuss the issue — a move reminiscent of Adidas’ broken promises after the Hermosa factory shutdown to implement a long-term solution to the problem of unpaid severance.
Millions spent on an army of PR spin doctors and a glitzy retreat in the Alps are no substitute for Adidas paying the money owed to its workers.