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.