Nike is under intense scrutiny ahead of its upcoming online AGM on September 12. The company is facing mounting pressure for its refusal to pay over $2.2 million in unpaid wages and benefits to more than 4,000 garment workers since 2020. This stance has drawn unprecedented concern from investors, human rights groups, unions, and consumers. Nike's reputation on human rights has taken a severe hit as it fails to ensure basic rights for women workers in its supply chain, contradicting its own commitments and code of conduct.
In Cambodia, 1,284 workers at the Ramatex-owned Violet Apparel factory were laid off without receiving $1.4 million in legally owed benefits when the factory closed in July 2020. Astonishingly, Nike denies any connection to the factory, despite clear evidence. Similarly, over 3,000 Burmese migrant workers in Thailand were denied pandemic furlough pay totaling over $800,000, with pregnant workers suffering the most.
More than 50 human rights organizations and unions worldwide, including Human Rights Watch and Oxfam, have called on Nike to address these violations. Despite years of engagement, Nike defends its rights-abusing suppliers.
Violet Apparel workers have urged Nike's Thasunda Brown Duckett to use her position to seek justice, and major investors are now demanding Nike pay the owed $2.2 million. The situation remains dire for these workers and their families, emphasizing the urgency for Nike to act.
