Just yesterday, we covered the impending strike at China's largest sneaker factory Yue Yuen, and now there's reports of further unrest in Asia.
Nearly 90,000 workers at Pou Chen Corp.'s factory in Vietnam, who makes sneakers for Nike and adidas according to its website, have been protesting since last week because of a change in government pension policy.
"None of us has [sic] a house. When we can't work, we want to get our social insurance all at once so we can build a house for the family. We struggle to make a living. We have to pay for all kinds of insurance, and we're afraid we'll lose it under the new law," said 28-year-old factory worker Nguyen Van Thu.
While the protests in China affect a number of brands, Pou Chen's factory is responsible for producing nearly 40 percent of all adidas sneakers. "We are monitoring the situation and are in close contact with our partners Pou Chen. Pou Chen Group is in discussion with the local government to seek ways to address the concerns expressed by the workers," adidas said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Nike was quick to deflect any association: "Nike and Converse do not source from the contract factories currently affected by the strike and there has been no impact to Nike or Converse production at contract factories in Vietnam," Nike said in a statement.
[via Business Journal and Oregon Live]
