Pou Chen, Myanmar

Hundreds of workers at Myanmar Pou Chen, a shoe supplier to adidas making World Cup products, held a 3-day strike in October 2022. They demanded a raise in the minimum wage from 4,800 kyat (US$2.27) to 8,000 kyat ($3.78) per day and an end to intimidation and threats against union members. Additionally, they urged an end to verbal abuse by supervisors, called for a reduction in production targets, and factory provision of local transportation. In response, management fired 26 workers, 16 of whom were union members. As of February 2023, 13 workers have been reinstated at the factory and 13 have taken severance pay, offered during drawn-out negotiations where it was unclear if reinstatement would be a possibility.

Adidas and the Pou Chen Group have stated that they consider the case resolved, however there have been numerous reports of ongoing union busting at the factory. Adidas has a long-standing sourcing relationship with the Pou Chen Group, which makes this blatant union repression even more stark. If the brand had a strong stance that matched its code of conduct, and ensured suppliers respected freedom of association, no workers involved in the strike would have faced retaliation. Equally, if adidas stood by its own Workplace Standards, wages should have increased to match hyper-inflation in a politically and economically unstable Myanmar. 

The Pou Chen workers demand an end to discrimination against union leaders and members, for their re-unionising efforts to go unhindered by the management, and for the factory to agree to collective bargaining. Anything less is a continuation of adidas turning a blind eye to union busting in its supply chain.