Central Java, Indonesia; Washington, D.C. (March 12, 2025) – After years of enduring gender-based violence and harassment (GBVH), courageous women workers in two garment factories have secured a groundbreaking, union-led gender justice agreement, signed in July 2024: the Central Java Agreement for Gender Justice.
These factories are owned by the firm Ontide, which was recently purchased by Korean multinational Creas F&C. For years prior to this, the factories operated under different ownership under the name Kukdong. They together employ 6,250 workers producing sportswear for major U.S. brands, including Fanatics, which sources both its own products and, under license, Nike-branded apparel from the factories – including apparel bearing the logos of universities and colleges.
The Central Java Agreement for Gender Justice was negotiated by four unions—SPN, SPSI, and KASBI at PT Batang Apparel Indonesia, and SPSI at PT Semarang Garment Indonesia—with the support of the Worker Rights Consortium (WRC), Asia Floor Wage Alliance (AFWA), and Global Labor Justice (GLJ), all of whom are signatories. The Agreement establishes a union-led program to eliminate GBVH, drawing from global best practices, including the Dindigul and Lesotho Agreements.
For years, under the factories’ prior owners, women workers faced non-consensual touching, sexual comments, verbal abuse, and coercion. Despite fear of retaliation, women workers bravely reported the abuse, triggering WRC investigations in 2021 and 2022. The WRC documented systemic GBVH. This led both to immediate remedies, which the new owners implemented at Fanatics’ request, and the negotiation of this historic agreement. Ontide’s remedial actions, including the discipline and termination of numerous perpetrators, and the successful negotiation of the Agreement with worker representatives, demonstrate Ontide’s recognition of their labor rights responsibilities.
Buyers that have apparel licensing agreements with WRC-affiliated universities are obligated, pursuant to those agreements, to ensure that suppliers like Ontide fulfill their contractual commitments to workers and unions. This is the mechanism through which the Central Java Agreement is enforced. The buyers’ role has been critical, both in ensuring that the recommended remedies were implemented and that the negotiations were launched and bore fruit.
“The journey towards a safe and gender-based violence-free workplace does not happen overnight. This agreement is the result of years of courageous struggle by women workers against harassment and oppression. This is momentum for us to keep moving forward and ensure that every workplace in the garment industry follows this path,” said Turyana, Plant-level Leader, PUK-F.SPTSK-K.SPSI PT Semarang Garment.
“This agreement is not just about two factories in Central Java. It sets a precedent for the garment industry in Indonesia, Southeast Asia, and globally that workers can and must have the right to a safe and dignified workplace. We call on all trade unions in this sector to take inspiration from this agreement in their struggles,” said Egye Gumilang, Plant Level Leader, PSP SPN PT Batang Apparel Indonesia.
“We believe that a fair and violence-free workplace is in the interest of all parties. This is not just a workers’ struggle but a shared responsibility among trade unions, factory management, and global brands,” said Sekarsari Dewi, Plant-level Leader, PUK-F.SPTSK-K.SPSI PT Batang Apparel Indonesia.
“Factories, workers, and global brands should see this as a mutually beneficial step forward. When workers feel safe and respected, productivity increases, work quality improves, and trust in responsible brands grows stronger,” said Dede Erwanto, Plant level leader, SBDK KASBI PT Batang Apparel.
“AFWA is proud to join the women worker members of our partner union SPN and allied unions SPSI and SBDK KASBI in Indonesia in launching this new enforceable supply chain agreement on GBVH prevention in Asia. When Asian workers unite and share lessons across the region we win major breakthroughs with global brands and suppliers,” said AFWA Deputy International Coordinator, Wiranta Ginting.
“This is a critical win for the courageous women garment workers in these two factories, who, like too many other women garment supply chain workers, have faced ongoing violence and harassment because of their gender. Our experience with other agreements like the Dindigul Agreement to Eliminate Gender-Based Violence and Harassment show that union-led enforceable supply chain agreements work. We call on all global brands to follow this model to protect the safety of women workers in their supply chains,” said Global Labor Justice Executive Director Jennifer (JJ) Rosenbaum.
“The Agreement is already changing 6,250 workers' lives, and it will make Ontide in Central Java one of the safest places for women workers anywhere in the global apparel industry. Like the Lesotho Agreement to End Gender-based Violence and Harassment, this Agreement is a model for how the industry can address the workplace assault and harassment that is the daily reality for too many garment workers around the world," said Jessica Champagne, Deputy Director for Field Operations and Strategy of the Worker Rights Consortium.
“As part of our commitment to ensure that the workers who manufacture Fanatics' products worldwide are treated fairly and respectfully, we are pleased to have had the opportunity to support the negotiation and implementation of the Central Java Gender Justice Agreement between our supplier Ontide, Indonesian unions, the Worker Rights Consortium, Asia Floor Wage Alliance, and Global Labor Justice. The comprehensive program created by this Agreement is creating a safer and more secure workplace for all workers at these factories," said Chris Fox, Chief Sustainability Officer of Fanatics Commerce.
"We are proud to be joining together with the four unions representing our workforce, the Asia Floor Wage Alliance, Global Labor Justice, and the Worker Rights Consortium on this Agreement to benefit and protect our workforce, with the support of our business partner Fanatics. As part of our commitment to our workers' safety and well-being, we are pleased to be seeing initial results of the timely and robust implementation of this agreement," said John Yoon, Sustainability Director of Ontide.
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Additional Information
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The Worker Rights Consortium (WRC) promotes and enforces labor rights protections and corporate accountability in global supply chains. The WRC assists 150 affiliated universities in enforcing the labor standards they have embedded in their licensing contracts with hundreds of apparel brands.
Contact: Jessica Champagne, Deputy Director for Strategy & Field Operations jessica.champagne [at] workersrights.org (jessica.champagne [at] workersrights.org), +1-650-255-5360
Global Labor Justice (GLJ) is a non-governmental organization that works transnationally to advance policies and laws that protect decent work; strengthen freedom of association and workers’ ability to advocate for their rights; and hold corporations accountable for labor rights violations in their supply chains.
Contact: Rachel Cohen, racohen78 [at] gmail.com (), +1-917-370-8464
Asia Floor Wage Alliance (AFWA) is an Asian labor-led global alliance of labor and social movement organizations for addressing poverty-level wages, gender discrimination, and freedom of association in global garment production networks.
Contact: Wiranta Ginting, Deputy International Coordinator, wiranta.g [at] asia.floorwage.org ()
Serikat Pekerja Nasional (SPN) – National Industrial Workers Union Federation (NIWUF) is an independent trade union federation dedicated to fighting for workers’ rights and advocating for a fair, prosperous, and dignified working society. SPN was founded in Solo in October 2003, and workers formed a plant-level union at Batang Apparel, PSP SPN PT Batang Apparel Indonesia in 2021.
Contact: Egye Gumilang, Chairperson PSP SPN PT Batang Apparel Indonesia, psp.spnptbai [at] gmail.com (), +62 821 2611 8265
Federasi Serikat Pekerja Tekstil Sandang dan Kulit Serikat Pekerja Seluruh Indonesia (FSP TSK SPSI) is a federation of trade unions representing workers in the textile, apparel, and leather sectors. FSP TSK SPSI is an independent, democratic, professional, and responsible organization that was established on July 19, 1973, and currently has 375,000 members. Workers formed PUK-F.SPTSK-K.SPSI PT Semarang Garment, a plant-level union at PT Semarang Garment, in 2009 and formed PUK-F.SPTSK-K.SPSI PT Batang Apparel Indonesia, a plant-level union at PT Batang Apparel Indonesia, in 2022.
Contacts:
Turyana, Chairperson of FSP TSK SPSI PUK PT Semarang Garment, spsi [at] ptsg.co.id (), +62 813 2670 6208
Sekarsari Dewi, General Secretary of FSP TSK SPSI PUK PT Batang Apparel Indonesia, spsi [at] ptbai.co.id (), +62 813 2716 1826
Serikat Buruh Demokratis Kerakyatan – Kongres Aliansi Serikat Buruh Indonesia (SBDK – KASBI), the People’s Democratic Trade Union Congress of the Indonesian Trade Union Alliance, is a labor movement dedicated to fighting against imperialist oppression, fascism, and feudalism. Established in January 2003, KASBI is committed to advocating for workers’ rights while resisting government policies that oppress both workers and the broader community. Workers formed a plant-level union at PT Batang Apparel in 2023.
Contact: Dede Erwanto, General Secretary, sbdkkasbi [at] gmail.com (), +62 895 2562 0176
