Indonesian workers’ feedback on
humanitarian aid efforts
Background
In late 2006, three large footwear suppliers in Indonesia closed in quick succession, due to financial difficulties. As a result, some 16,500 workers were left unemployed. Given the scale of these closures, the adidas Group offered to provide humanitarian aid. Government and local trade unions were consulted and a medical care programme was set up for workers and their immediate family members. The six-month aid programme commenced in January 2007.
Challenges
The adidas Group’s SEA department managed the aid programme through a local service provider. One of our biggest challenges was to ensure that information on medical care offered reached all laid-off workers, so that they could take full advantage of the assistance being provided.
Collecting workers’ feedback
We felt it was important to measure the effectiveness of the humanitarian effort. A professional team from the Research Division of the Community Health Faculty at the University of Indonesia was commissioned to conduct a rapid survey to capture:
- Workers’ awareness and understanding of the medical programme
- Their perception of the service and the medical benefits.
Survey findings
A statistical methodology was used and 271 workers, randomly chosen from the three closed factories, answered the survey.
The findings were generally positive with:
- 78.4% of the respondents being aware of the medical aid programme and generally knowledgeable about the services being offered
- 98.5% of the respondents perceived that the medical care met their basic needs
- 87.5% of the respondents who had used the service claimed that the procedures were simple and easy to follow.
The above findings were encouraging, given the speed with which the programme was launched and the dispersed nature of the recipients.