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In Adidas: stop wearing us out!, Suparjo shares the challenges that he has faced since his unfair dismissal from an adidas supply factory in 2005.

Suparjo made Adidas shoes for 8 years before losing his job for his participation in a strike asking for better wages.  Here he tells the story of why he has decided to take a stand.

"I started working at Panarub in 1998 but didn’t join the union until 2003.  It was only once I received education on workers rights that I began to appreciate the real importance of unions.
I felt really empowered because it turned out that workers were important and that we did have many rights.  We weren’t just this group of people who others would feel sorry for."

"After I was educated on my rights I knew that forced overtime was not allowed.  There were so many things that we really should have known.  I felt that I had to make these things known. So I was invited to become an information officer for the union."

"No one forced me to become involved with the union. I started from a neutral position. Before we are aware of our rights we are just like the parts of a machine. but once we become conscious of our rights everything changes.  If we remain unaware of our rights, the engine of the brands has absolute power.  But once workers join unions and are aware of their rights, they have more power to negotiate."

In 2005 Suparjo was amongst 33 workers dismissed after taking industrial action against low wages at Panarub.  Despite the Indonesian Human Rights Committee finding that the dismissals were illegal, Adidas did not insist on the reinstatement of the workers.  Adidas instead promised to ‘protect’ Suparjo’s job opportunities.  Suparjo has applied five times to Adidas supplier Ching Luh Indonesia, as well as Adidas supplier PT Alaska, but remains unemployed.

Suparjo's Message for Adidas consumers
"I really hope that you will consider the lives of the workers who make the shoes that you wear.
I hope that you will be conscious of the fact that those shoes are made by workers whose welfare is too often ignored.  I ask consumers for their support of workers’ rights.
I hope that they support my rights to obtain re-employment because I would like to support my parents back in Wonogiri, and I would also like to have a family of my own in the future."

Suparjo's Message for the CEO of Adidas
"I ask the CEO of Adidas to seriously give attention to the rights of the workers who make Adidas shoes and guarantee that these workers will have access to their rights.  Adidas takes pride in its goods, which are expensive, yet considers its labourers as cheap commodities. They must start taking workers into consideration when they negotiate with suppliers."

Support Suparjo:
Ask Adidas to keep its promises and ensure that these former union leaders are are given a fair opportunity to gain work: http://www.oxfam.org.au/act/take-action/workers-rights/2010-05-adidas-stop-wearing-us-out

Read more from Suparjo via his blog:

http://www.oxfam.org.au/blogs/category/adidas-stop-wearing-us-out/