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| Issue No 62 |  |
14 July 2000 |
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InternationalJakarta BreakthroughBy Andrew Casey
Indonesian workers have just won a new historic bill of rights which gaurantees them legal protections when they form unions.
For the first time in Indonesia public servants will be allowed to form their own unions - a right which was firmly denied them until legislation passed through the Indonesian Parliament this week. The new laws give workers wanting to set up independent unions more legal gaurantees than any previous legislation. Most importantly there is no attempt to herd workers into only Government-run unions or associations. The explicit right given to public servants to unionize is an extraordinary win which should see the rapid spread of unionisation throughout Indonesia's government sector. Until now all Indonesian public servants were obliged to join the Indonesian Civil Servants' Corps (Korpri), which never acted as a union, but helped the Government to control a relatively well-educated workforce. Ever since the election of the new government of President Wahid there has been a flowering of industrial activity by workers demanding new rights. They are using - with often colourful demonstrations and strikes - the democratic space created by the end of the Suharto regime. Many of the strikes are targetting multinationals who moved into the country during the Suharto years to make profits on the backs of cheap and compliant workforces. Fore more than a month Indonesian Rio Tinto workers in Kalmintan have been holding a sit in to demand better wages and conditions. The Rio Tinto workers - with the backing of the regional parliament - have now forced the company to negotiate. A huge Sony plant in Jakarta has been the subject of months of on-going strikes and sit-ins. Sony has threatened to completely shut down the plant and move to Malaysia where electronic sector workers are barred from forming unions. On July 8 Sony sacked about 1000 workers in an attempt to get rid of its most militant workers and bring the dispute to an end. There are hundreds of new groups which have sprung up - all claiming to be unions. There are more than twenty union groupings claiming the title of national union centres. Some of these groups are aligned with different political parties, some are regional organisations, while still others are aligned with religious-groups. Not all the new union groups are happy with the new bill. Romawati Sinaga of the National Front for Indonesian Workers Struggle, was quoted by the Jakarta Post this week as saying this union is preparing a joint statement to reject the bill.
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   Interview: Fair TraderAMWU boss Doug Cameron is gearing for a showdown with the ALP over their free trade agenda. But what's he really on about? Politics: Free TraderTrade Minister Peter Cook states his case for coninuting trade liberalisation and why the 'fair trade' agenda is against the interests of Australian workers. History: Organising - Fifties StyleWhat do the new wave of organisers do? Pretty much the same hard slog that Audrey Petrie did in the 1950s around Sydney for the Hotel, Club and Restaurant Union (HCRU). Unions: The WhistleblowerA lone Chinese seafarer is fighting to stop a Panamanian flagged vessel from dumping toxic waste into Australian waters International: Jakarta BreakthroughIndonesian workers have just won a new historic bill of rights which gaurantees them legal protections when they form unions. Solidarity: Rio Versus the Rest of the WorldUnion members around the world have taken part in a week of international action against the mining giant Rio Tinto. Andrew Casey looks at all the hot spots. Satire: Amnesty Branch Targets Lazy Letter WriterPolice are investigating claims that the Glebe branch of Amnesty International has captured and tortured a member whose tardiness in letter writing had become renowned. Review: Little by LittleClinton Walker's groundbreaking book, CD and video charts the careers of indigenous artists like the legendary Jimmy Little.
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