Blackstone Disputes Labor Rights Activists’ Call to Pay Factory Workers $10.8M

Four years after two Jaba Garmindo factories abruptly closed in Indonesia, displacing 4,000 workers, a group of labor activists is calling upon the Blackstone Group, which at one time controlled a sportswear label that was among the companies that produced goods there, to compensate the former employees $10.8 million in unpaid and severance wages. Jack Wolfskin was the German outdoor brand that Blackstone previously controlled that was among the labels making products there. The International Labor Rights Forum, AFL-CIO, United Students Against Sweatshops, and Global Labor Justice put the word out Tuesday morning, claiming that the total amount reflects what is owed to the displaced workers. A Blackstone spokesman said Tuesday, “While we are sympathetic to the situation of these workers, this factory was owned by a third party — not Jack Wolfskin. Furthermore, Blackstone no longer has any investment in Jack Wolfskin.” In addition to Uniqlo and Jack Wolfskin, a Workplace Relations Commission report from December 2018 noted that s.Oliver and Gerry Weber produced knitwear and apparel there before Jaba Garmindo went bankrupt. Press also indicated that Jaba Garmindo supplied apparel to H&M, the report stated. Asked about that Tuesday, a WRC spokeswoman said, “We were not able to confirm that there

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