Campaign success: Indonesian On supplier reinstates dismissed union members

In recent years, Indonesia has become the global sports shoe industry’s second most important production hub after Vietnam. Since 2023, many of the running shoes sold by the Swiss brand On have been made in factories built for this fast-growing sector on Java, the country’s main island. The key draw is the high availability of cheap labour – even by regional standards. In remote Cirebon, four hours east of Jakarta, the statutory monthly minimum wage is just under 130 Swiss francs, barely half the level of that in the capital. Yet as Public Eye saw in villages around the factories, this is nowhere near enough to live a life in dignity. On had pledged that by the end of 2025, all workers at direct suppliers would be paid a living wage. For now, however, they continue to receive only the legal minimum – a fraction of the living wage calculated by the Asian trade union alliance AFWA.

The situation is even more precarious at subcontractors like Yihong, a specialist factory that prints and applies lettering such as “Swiss Engineering” to the shoes. These letters are no more “Swiss Made” than the little white cross against a red background that, since March, has officially been allowed to appear also on On shoes sold in Switzerland. Workers at Yihong began organising in early 2025 in response to unpaid overtime, harassment by supervisors and other labour rights abuses. Management and the Chinese owners struck back by dismissing three alleged movement leaders and then – after protests by the workforce – shutting the factory. A few weeks later, production resumed and most of the workforce of more than 1,000 was rehired – except for the 112 workers who refused to leave the union. Progress on the case had stalled until the Clean Clothes Campaign launched an “urgent appeal” to brands who source from the factory in August 2025.

After the case over an “illegal strike” was thrown out – and now under pressure from On and other brands including New Balance and Brooks – Yihong agreed in February to reinstate the union members and compensate them for part of the wages they had unlawfully lost. The case, documented by Public Eye on the ground, shows that better working conditions in shoe production are possible when brands take responsibility for their supply chains. But the poverty wages paid by the Swiss brand’s Indonesian suppliers and subcontractors remain indefensible – especially given On’s recent multimillion profits and lavish executive pay. The Zurich-based company must now prove it is serious about its promises by ensuring real living wages throughout its supply chain and by enforcing freedom of association and other basic workers’ rights.

Photos and grafics here

For more information please contact:

Oliver Classen, media director, +41 44 277 79 06, oliver.classen@publiceye.ch

Florian Blumer, researcher/reporter, +41 44 277 79 28, florian.blumer@publiceye.ch