In China, shoe factory striking workers halted the production for the fifth day in a dispute involving company contribution to the housing funds and social security of employees.
The stoppage of work at Yue Yuen Industrial Holdings, a maker of shoes for brands such as Adidas, Asics and Nike continued into the weekend, while the company continues to communicate with workers over an offer to increase the benefit for social security starting on May 1, said a spokesperson for the business based in Hong Kong.
China Labor Bulletin, and monitoring group, said striking workers at the facility in Dongguan, China number over 10,000.
The advocacy group cited a worker who said the company might owe employees up to $161 million.
Thousands of company workers at the Dongguan factory in the south began walking out on Friday just prior to 9:00 a.m., said Xinhua, the official news agency in China.
Dozens of the workers were hauled away by the police, but clashes did not break out, nor was anyone injured reported Xinhua.
Pou Chen Group a supplier for Adidas in China and the parent company of Yue Yuen is currently negotiating with the local government to resolve the concerns of the striking workers, while an investigation will be conducted when the strike comes to an end, Adidas China announced on Friday.
A spokesperson for Nike did not respond to emails requesting a comment. Nike and Adidas reiterated on Thursday that they had been monitoring the ongoing strike and had encouraged dialog between the management of Yue Yuen and the workers.
The shoe brands did not comment during the week on how a disruption of output is expected to affect their own business and if they intended to take some form of action with Yue Yuen.
Officials from the factories said that employees might face action if they refuse to return to their work. Not specifics as to what actions would happen were discussed.
Taiwanese owners were the original founders of Yue Yuen in 1998, and it has factories located in Indonesia, Vietnam and China.
