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Sweat-shop labourers paid just £2 a day to churn out £49 England kit
IN SWEATSHOP: 16p-an-hour workers making England shirts
LIKE A PRISON: Huge wall around slave labour factory keeps out prying eyes
SCANDAL: Shirts being made for £2 a day are sold for £49
THE World Cup shirts worn by England's multi-million pound soccer stars and tens of thousands of fans are made by slumdog workers paid just £2 A DAY in a secret sweat-shop in Indonesia.
A News of the World investigation has traced the Football Association's newly-designed official Three Lions tops back to a slave labour factory that makers Umbro-owned by Nike- don't want YOU to know about.
Behind barbed wire fences patrolled by guards, more than 2,000 dirt-poor teenage girls and young mums toil for a sickening 16p AN HOUR, 12 hours a day, making the trendy shirts the FA is selling for £49 A TIME.
One told us: "We all work maximum overtime because the basic salary isn't enough to live on and keep our families. The work is very hard and the pay is not good but jobs are hard to get."
The machinists are watched constantly by patrolling supervisors ordered to fire anyone caught chatting or taking mobile phone pictures of their appalling conditions.
Fear
And at the end of their punishing factory shifts working at machines in a boiling hot factory with no air-condititoning they are ferried exhausted in ramshackle coaches back to the shanty towns where they live in squalor. All the workers we spoke to were frightened to talk about their slave labour for fear of losing their jobs. But they were staggered that each jersey sold for what they would have to work a MONTH to earn.
"That's just crazy," gasped one. "How can anyone pay so much for something made by people like us?"
Our findings will shame both the FA and Umbro, who proudly unveiled England's first "bespoke tailored shirts" in March when England played Slovakia at Wembley.
They were worn on Wednesday in the 6-0 Wembley win over Andorra.
Umbro drafted in top designer Aitor Throup and Savile Row tailor Charlie Allen to create the new look inspired by the strip England wore in their 1966 World Cup quarter-final win over Argentina.
The firm brags that each shirt-now sold by chest size-uses a special fabric to regulate body temperature and enhance performance.
Yet its glitzy advertising campaign makes no mention of the run-down PT Tuntex plant in Tangerang, a two-hour drive from Jakarta. Acting on a tip-off, we tracked down the factory where thousands work in sweltering conditions to produce shirts which keep players cool.
Temperatures regularly soar into the high 30s. Supervisors prowl between the desks of machinists in the vast open-plan factory to ensure workers never stop to chat.
Each worker earns a basic 1.05 million rupiah (£62.71) a month, toiling from 8am to 6pm, five days a week.
Many of the women are forced to do overtime just to feed their children, who are left to run wild in the narrow shack-filled lanes of the workers' shanty town that has risen up close to the plant. Desperate not to risk their jobs, workers would only talk to us using false names. Many wear traditional Muslim headscarves as well as their soccer shirt uniforms-red tops for those making Umbro shirts and blue for workers producing tops for Tuntex's other main client Adidas.
Some workers wear masks because of fumes from the production process.
Packing worker Saraswati, 19, said: "The bosses are very strict. I saw a worker sacked on the spot for turning up just a few minutes late.
"We all rent rooms as close to the factory as we can so we can be sure to arrive on time. Otherwise we will lose our jobs and may not find another one."
A 24-year-old seamstress called Agustina said: "We have been making many of the England shirts to send directly to Umbro UK. We are told to work very fast. They must be very popular."
Machinist Lia, 19, added: "I try to send a little money home to my family in the countryside but after paying for rent and food there is hardly any left."
Mum of one Hesti, 24, said: "There is only enough time to eat and then sleep before returning to work at 8am every day. It is a tough life."
They all live in the shanty town where stinking black water runs through open drains between shacks rented out at inflated prices by private landlords. It's a scene far removed from the image Umbro has dreamed up to promote its new England shirt. And the managers of the Taiwanese-owned factory were desperate to try to stop us seeing the real picture. First they ordered guards to stop us taking photographs, then demanded we delete all images of workers.
One of them said: "We are under orders from Umbro not to let anyone like you inside our factory."
An employee claiming to be the staff union rep was sent to talk to us. He asked for the identities of the workers we interviewed. We declined. Union officials in Indonesia later described the workers' pay as just above the country's legal minimum but totally inadequate. Dian Ansar, of the Congress of Indonesian Unions Alliance, said Umbro had a moral obligation to do more for the labourers.
"People in England should be aware of what goes on in this factory," she said, citing a 2002 case where US clothing chain Gap was forced by a customer boycott to improve conditions for workers in Indonesia and elsewhere.
"They should put pressure on Umbro to improve pay for workers. These women don't make enough for their families to live on."
England captain's John Terry's £135,000-a-week salary alone would pay all 2,000 workers at the plant for more than a month. It is the SECOND time we have exposed Umbro over slave labour. Four years ago, they were using lowly-paid workers in China to make the shirts for the 2006 World Cup.
An Umbro spokesman told us: "We are committed to producing the England kit under fair working conditions. "Although Umbro does not own or operate the PT Tuntex factory, we are committed to working with contract factories that make our products to provide a fair working environment.
"Workers at PT Tuntex earn, on average, twice the minimum wage set by the Indonesian government."
An FA spokesman said: "The FA has no involvement whatsoever in the manufacturing process of the England kit.
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This article has 32 comments
oh my gosh.. I already know that many sports products were produced in Indonesia, but with such condition......., it's unforgivable. But.. even a professional got low salary... I'm not really proud of my country's working condition, therefore many people wish to work abroad...
By May. Posted October 7 2009 at 9:38 AM.
the average minimum wages in Indonesia is about USD 4,5 per day (5 days working days a week) . match that number, the FA and England players can sleep tight.
eri sidharta, East Java, Indonesia.
By eri sidharta. Posted August 10 2009 at 1:07 PM.
Umbro can do nothing. Everything is control by XXXX liaison office in Singapore, cant type its real name. It is just the tyrant highly middle class manager who tries so hard to please the C Level folk in XXXX by covering everything and just said there was no problem. Their CR team may sleep under the desks, perhaps.
By DontKnowMuch. Posted July 21 2009 at 10:40 AM.
i'm disappointed, ashamed as an FA match official, and appalled with the FA's attitude especially with their grassroots connection! as both a leading world body of football (the game of billions) and up till now a proud champion -66 and all that- they should be at the forefront in combatting such practices.
this just confirmes that multi-nationals feel their names and brands are bigger than the rest of us; have no ethics and only interested in their balance sheets. unfortunately, we're all somehow connected in this darker side of globalisation fever sweeping our world -cheaper prices.
regardless of comparisons, price differentials (£2:£49) shouldn't be so pronounced. also shows that many companies feel they're big enough to over-ride all corporate social resposibilty. only way they ever learn is when we as customers stop buying at such inflated prices.
economies of scale the order of the day -raise a glass to capitalism!!!!!
By challo. Posted July 16 2009 at 4:46 PM.
This makes me feel sick. I don't understand how anyone could be treated in this way - what gives that Company the right to treat these poor people like dirt?
The fact that they are working under exreme conditions, with the threat of losing their jobs 24/7 just makes me realise that our country just doesn't care about the people making the shirts and how much they earn an HOUR - as long as they get their fancy shirts, everything is GREAT and that just makes me feel sick, I'm disgusted about how the unfortunate are being expolited, just because our country can't be bothered to do anything about it.
By JN. Posted June 25 2009 at 9:51 AM.
yeahh...poor Indonesia...tha'ts fact !!!
i'am not proud be a indonesian...
By david. Posted June 23 2009 at 8:11 AM.
As a former pro footballer (I played with Everton's Tim Howard) who has been working to improve conditions for Nike factory workers in Indonesia for more than a decade, I am glad that so many of you are outraged by this story.
If you would like to turn your outrage into action, please visit www.teamsweat.org. Team Sweat is an international coalition of workers, consumers and investors that are fighting for justice for Nike's workers (Nike owns Umbro).
I have sought the support of players on the U.S National Team to avail. Perhaps there is one socially conscious player on the England side that would like to know the truth about how their kit is made and what they can do to help. I arrive in Jakarta on July 20th, the day Man United is playing their exhibition match. Mr. Rooney, would you like to visit the workers who so proudly make the gear you wear? I hope to hear from you.
Peace,
Jim Keady, USA
By Jim Keady. Posted June 23 2009 at 1:28 AM.
sucks...all of this
By rendie. Posted June 22 2009 at 8:36 AM.
Paul E.Samar Philippines Can you give us a breakdown of the £2 a day equivalent that your father in law and his 10 dependants lives on ??
I would be surprised if in Samar this would even buy necessities never mind the education !!
Reads a little bit colonial and a big bit patronising if I may so
By shamrock. Posted June 20 2009 at 2:24 PM.
i'm in Indonesia with a millon people do job like that. They only had less than 3 dollars a day. It's very different with the price. so sadddddd :(
By monod. Posted June 20 2009 at 5:20 AM.
What a bloody disgrace that is, toddling about in style when your gear is made by those who have been explioted it's a shame when the players earn what $100,000 to $200,000 a week, not to mention the average punter paying his/her's hard earnt cash on a shirt that has been heavily marked up so that that company that makes the shirts and the FA can make profits from. And this even leads to question the endorsements that the players not just from football but from other sports as well make their money from as we all know that some players/ various other proffessional athletes earn millions in sponsorship deals for Nike and co
By Liara. Posted June 19 2009 at 4:56 AM.
What I find appalling about this is the FA's comment that they have nothing to do with the manufacturing of the kits. This is just the ultimate cop-out. The problem of sweat labour is only one small step away from slavery, and I believe one of the worlds biggest problems.The FA should take a stand and make sure that their flagship team is sporting a kit that is ethically made. The new kit is very striking in it's simplicity and will stand out in the World Cup. England should promote the core values of English fair play and be the first team to wear a kit with the Fairtrade mark. It's pointless blaming the players, I'm sure if Lampard, Beckham,Capello etc were made more aware of this problem they would put pressure on the powers at the FA. If not they should be ashamed of themselves. Ultimately,it's the FA that should be piling on the pressure. I for one will not be buying this kit for my son.
By john Behets. Posted June 15 2009 at 11:03 AM.
I have been to Indonesia.The cost of living is low.Food,clothes,cigs,petrol etc.
Shanty towns are normal in Indonesia.
For every job vacancy there is a hundred people waiting.
Most Indonesian workers, factory or office eat from street vendors at lunchtime.Some workers employ their own maids..
Nearly everyone appears to own a motorbike or scooter.
Great people....
By Sue. Posted June 15 2009 at 12:21 AM.
They are modern slaves in 2009 ! It's a shame!
I'll never buy from these global companies. Years ago I read Naomi Klein's book "No Logo".
Today is the same story... The West enslaves the Third World.
By P.J.. Posted June 15 2009 at 12:02 AM.
our government ought to do something about all these cheap import of clothes. and let the u.k manufacture,s have a fair share of the market. we are a small company based in the westmidlands , and we have made football shirts for some of the top clubs ,but as soon as the big sponsors move in they take everything abroad. we are fed up with being priced out of the market. we are on a knifes edge at the moment trying to diversify into other things .we too only want to earn a living,for our families
By julie. Posted June 14 2009 at 6:29 PM.
Simple. If nobody buys them then there is no market for them. That would mean the FA and Umbro lose out on their profits but what about these people?
Their wage is quite high compared to factory workers in India who are paid less than a pound a day. £2 a day is about right for Indonesia - it's not the same as paying someone in the UK £2 a day.
They would rather have that job for £2 a day than have no job. Prostitution is often the alternative to employment in deprived countries. That's far worse than a factory job.
By Jennifer. Posted June 14 2009 at 5:36 PM.
first of all, the working conditions are poor and they work long really long hours. i just checked n £2 is actually 33,231 indonesian rupiahs. A charity website tells me that factory workers in indonesia earn from 15k to 30k a day. so actually their pay is not bad. However, umbro and nike make ridiculous amounts of money and that is exploitation because workers need to have a good quality of life. even the players who wear the kits make millions of pounds a year and it is inhumane to exploit people like this no matter which country they are from.
the funny thing is FA says they have not involvement in the kit making. Im assuming that this statement is true and therefore they just made a fool out of themselves. they are the official football association for england and they can't just runaway from these facts.
By Sree. Posted June 14 2009 at 5:19 PM.
like the guy from the phillipines said these people are getting paid the equivilent of £50 per day what more do you expect of an un skilled factory job they are not going to be paid £50 per day because that would mean the equivilent of £1250 per day! and they may live in poverty but so does half the world!
By John. Posted June 14 2009 at 5:04 PM.
This is totally unacceptable. The middle men (and the FA) are making tons or money out of the kit and the workers can hardly feed their families. At least the recent uncovered stories about Primark suppliers are not as bad coz their clothes are far cheaper than the overrated £49 shirt. I am totally ashamed to call my self an England supporter.
Rizaldo
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
By rizaldo. Posted June 14 2009 at 3:21 PM.
Further to my comments earlier, europeans please wake up to the fact that you are so lucky, this is , I REPEAT not slave labour.
£2 per day is the same as £50 in uk, not great but by no means slave labour, please come and see instead of living in your centrally heated doubled glazed running water, electricity on tap ivory towers.
If you feel so bad please come and see and stop been so two faced about your crocodile tears for matters that you do not understand.
Paul E.Samar Philippines
By paul. Posted June 14 2009 at 1:20 PM.
this is terrible i can not believe this horrible explotation is going on i am really appalledthese poor kids whose childhood is being eroded being denied education i feel really sad a campaign a petetion this need to be brought to the fore front and public awareness needs to be brought to the surface these companies needs to be names and shamed if this was happening in france there would be a national outcry is it because it is happening in a country far far away that no none gives a danm
By jade. Posted June 14 2009 at 11:56 AM.
hopefully some good will come from this story
andt the F.A will lower the price of the shirts £40 is far too much to pay for what is just a white polo shirt with a england badge stuck on it.
By neil v. Posted June 14 2009 at 10:10 AM.
I agree it is slave labour but then if they increased the wages they would have to sack a lot of the workers so its a catch 22 situation. The only way would be to boycott the products but again that would involve sacking people. They should make the working conditions better, provide better facilities for the workers etc but then there wouldn't be so much profit for the fat cats. The workers are in a no win situation. In the West we want cheap food and clothing and tend to turn a blind eye to how its obtained.
By Karen 51. Posted June 14 2009 at 11:10 AM.
Dispicable slave labour.What sort of dimwit would pay £49 for a shirt like that? They are rubbish made of cheap material.
By Lee. Posted June 14 2009 at 10:19 AM.
Before people start slagging off our players
is it not true they give their international
payments to charity???.
Come on people you cannot blame the players
for this kind of exploitation it is all down to the
FA.
stephen.
By Stephen. Posted June 14 2009 at 10:44 AM.
So the FA have no involvement in the manufacturing process - thank goodness not everyone washes their hands so easily - shame.
By Andy Davids. Posted June 14 2009 at 10:04 AM.
very shocked at the working conditions, pay etc, and then the massive mark up (even more so than normal club shirts.. why is that?)
what gets me going is that umbro / FA don't seem to care.
its' time to boycott ALL replica tops til decent pay and conditions are guaranteed. it wouldnt happen in the UK, so why elsewhere?
shame on you, England FC!
By shocked in sussex. Posted June 14 2009 at 8:56 AM.
haven't we known for years that football tops are made on the cheap.Just like paul said in 1st post £2 a day can get you a lot of things over there.
By dudley wolf. Posted June 14 2009 at 8:02 AM.
This is a very provocative headline, until you actually live in south east asia as i do here in nearby Philippines. £2 per day is not a bad wage in this area, this £2 per day can buy in the local market the following. My father in law feeds his family (9 children and wife), clothes them and pays all school fees on the equivalent of £2 a day, as for the headline sweat shop, check BBC weather charts, this area has average temps of 30-35 degree every day, so of course it is very hot!.
Equated into the language of many chaps who buy these shirts £2 per day can buy 10 litres of lager or 18 packs of cigarrettes, the english equivalent would cost at least £50 per day, hardly a kings ransom, but it is with a little investigation and less shock jock reporting not as bad as made out.
Paul E.Samar Philippines
By Paul Swords. Posted June 14 2009 at 2:33 AM.
THEY NEVER DONE A VERY GOOD JOB THEN,
THE STRIP IS AS BOREING AS THE ENGLAND TEAM HA HA HA HA
By dmgers. Posted June 14 2009 at 1:55 AM.
What a sick, sick world this is.
These sweat shop workers are probably
more dignified than most of the greedy
self important prats that play the game
though.
By SB. Posted June 14 2009 at 1:31 AM.
We know all this already. Where do you think a £2 tee-shirt from primark comes from?
These footballers are paid stupid wages, no wonder off the profits they make off the strips.
By Linda. Posted June 14 2009 at 12:18 AM.