Ulma Haryanto – The head of the workers' union at a Converse factory in Sukabumi, West Java, dismissed on Wednesday a recent report by The Associated Press alleging rampant rights violations.

"We have no idea where they got the report. It's slander," Doni Sudarsono, head of the union at Glostar Indonesia, told the Jakarta Globe.

AP reported last week that dozens of workers at the factory, which produces Converse sneakers for Nike, claimed "supervisors throw shoes at them, slap them and call them dogs and pigs."

Glostar Indonesia, according to Doni, is owned by the Taiwanese Pou Chen Group and is the only Converse factory in the area, meaning it was the factory referred to by AP. As far as I'm concerned, we haven't seen such abuses [as claimed in the report] for a long time now," Doni said. He added that he had led the union for the past four years, the same length of time the factory has been producing Converse sneakers.

Doni said that while the union was not powerful, it was vocal whenever there was inappropriate conduct at the factory. "In previous incidents, whenever anyone, including [foreign] bosses, treated workers inappropriately, we protested and most of them had to return to their home country," he said.

Iwan Ridwan, the head of Sukabumi's manpower office, told the Globe on Wednesday that even though there was labor friction in the area, his office often sided with the workers.

"I won't deny that there are imperfections in the management [of factories]," Iwan said. "We are not supposed to take sides [in resolving disputes], but for nationalism's sake, we side with our workers."

"It might have happened in the past, but mediation talks between companies and unions have worked," he continued, adding that he has headed the office since November.

Iwan said the office always took immediate measures to resolve labor disputes, especially those involving foreign management. "If bosses behave badly toward local workers, we act quickly," he said.

Glostar Indonesia workers receive the highest wages in the area, Iwan said, although they do not exceed the regional minimum wage of Rp 850,000 ($99) a month.

"The maximum period for a contract worker is three months, and afterward they will receive permanent employment," he continued. "Wages are a very sensitive issue here. "If the workers feel that the company is cheating, we can expect that big demonstrations will follow," Iwan added.