A union-led gender justice agreement at two Indonesian garment factories produced 165 sanctions against workplace abusers in its first year, including eight dismissals, according to a progress report released this week.
The Central Java Agreement for Gender Justice, an enforceable brand accord signed in July 2024, covers all 6,250 workers at PT Batang Apparel Indonesia and PT Semarang Garment Indonesia, about 90 percent of them women. The factories are owned by South Korean multinational Ontide and make apparel for universities and colleges, as well as products for Fanatics.
The Asia Floor Wage Alliance report, covering January 2025 to March 1, 2026, recorded 236 reports of harassment and violence from women workers. Outcomes included 29 written warnings and 117 verbal warnings alongside the dismissals, Ecotextile News reported.
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The programme places unions at the centre of enforcement. Worker representatives act as shop floor monitors who track and report gender-based violence and harassment, while the agreement also provides for worker-led training and a multi-channel grievance process. Four unions, SPN, SPSI and KASBI at PT Batang and SPSI at PT Semarang, negotiated the deal with support from the Worker Rights Consortium, the Asia Floor Wage Alliance and Global Labor Justice.
The model draws on the 2019 Lesotho agreement and the 2022 Dindigul agreement in India, two binding accords protecting women garment workers. Union leaders say the Indonesian pact sets a precedent for the garment industry across Southeast Asia and well beyond.
Fanatics has committed to enforcing the agreement at both plants. The Business & Human Rights Resource Centre noted that Nike, whose licensed apparel Fanatics also sources, has neither signed the pact nor made binding commitments.
The agreement was announced publicly in March 2025, after the Worker Rights Consortium documented abuses at the factories, which are located in Central Java.