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Nike Sweat Shops

Ali Lalani
25 Boulder Cr
Guelph, Ontario
N1G 5A2

Ministry Of Labor
3860 Sussex Dr
Ottawa, Ontario
O2R 6B8

Nike Sweat Shops

I am writing this letter to express my concerns over Nike's labor practices in Asia. There has been much debate and controversy recently concerning Nike's Asian labor practices. It is very difficult to determine which side of the argument to defend, as both acknowledge the problems yet put a completely different spin on the facts. I will try to show that Nike has created a cloud of smoke in Asia that the public cannot see through.

Nike does not own any of the factories that produce its products in Asia, and subsequently they do not directly employ the workers or management. They contract out work to factories that make all of the products and run all of the factories. They have a massive amount of leverage when dealing with these factories because of the huge contracts they supply. To ensure good labor practices, Nike has a Code of Conduct that every contractor must agree to in order to receive a contract. The Code of Conduct in theory condemns and prohibits child labor, requires that workers be paid fair wage, imposes caps on the days and hours that a worker can be forced to work, prohibits mistreatment or discrimination of workers in any form, and states that factories must implement programs that benefit worker's health and safety. There are 1000 Nike employees worldwide monitoring operations across the globe.

The most consistent criticism of Nike is that the workers in the factories are not aware of the Code of Conduct that was agreed upon, especially the wages and overtime aspects. Employees of the factories have told sources that the factories pay less that minimum wage at times, force too many overtime hours, and fail to make the workplace as clean and safe as required by the standards dictated by Nike's Code. Many of the factories that are contracted have workers and management from different countries,...