
Issue No 95		11 May 2001

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News

Three Stripes and You’re Out

A 29 year old Indonesian union activist, at a factory licensed to Adidas shoes, has been arrested and charged with inciting workers to resist authority.

Ngadinah, the general secretary of the shoe factory's trade union has been held in a women's prison since April 23, and was dragged before the local Tangerang District Court this week to face charges of inciting people to resist authority and 'unpleasant treatment towards other people'.

The latter charge is said to relate to Ngadinah's poor relationship with the boss and management of the shoe company - PT Panarub.

The chairman of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Indonesia (GBSI), Bandung Eko Saputro, this week vowed to have Ngadinah's case brought before the ILO and international trade union forums.

" Ngadinah is a representative of worker activists throughout Indonesia who struggle for workers' rights," the GBSI chair told the Jakarta Post this week.

He compared Ngadinah with Marsinah, an Indonesian labour activist in East Java who was found dead in 1993 three days after staging a demonstration demanding welfare improvements for workers.

The Marsinah case became a cause celebre in the international trade union movement.

The GSBI has appealed to Adidas to urgently respond to the Ngadinah case and order all Indonesian companies who hold their licences to comply with Adidas's code of conduct.

The GSBI has vowed to garner international support for a campaign of boycotts of Adidas products should the company fail to comply with the union groups demands.

Ngadinah was arrested after her bosses complained to local police that she was the mastermind of massive strikes conducted by 8000 workers at the company's compound in Tangerang between September 8 and September 11 last year.

Her lawyer said the striking workers were only demanding that the company, PT Panarub, abide by government regulations on workers' rights which granted health, family and meal allowances for workers.

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Issue 95 contents

Interview: Geek Guys
Two of the union movement’s pioneers in new technology, Peter Ross and Mark McGrath, chew the fat about wired unionism and virtual politics.

Compo: Costa’s Angels
Behind the spotlight of the workers comp campaign four women trade union officials have been burning the midnight oil to protect injured workers.

Legal: View from the Bench
Compensation Court judge and former Attorney-General, Frank Walker, argues the Della Bosca workers comp reforms are a threat to judicial independence.

International: Timor: Time for the Truth
HT Lee was in Dili when the militas ran rampage. Now he wants the truth to come out.

History: True Believers
Frank Bongiorno looks at the origins of the Australian Labor Party, which celebrated its centenary of Caucus this week.

Corporate: Trust Me, I’m a Multi-National!
BHP unions have united across the factions to urge “No” vote on the planned Billiton merger.

Unions: AWAs – A Doomed Future?
ACTU Assistant Secretary Richard Marles plays clairvoyant and predicts a dismal future for AWAs.

Satire: Bush Defends One China Policy - Then Another China Policy, Then Another ....
President Bush today announced a major change to the United States’ policy of “strategic ambiguity” towards the status of Taiwan and its One China policy.

Review: Surviving Survivor
Workers Online's Reality TV correspondent Mark Morey rakes over the coals of the Survivor II result.

» Carr Government Avoids Own Safety Laws

» Phantom Employers Face the Flush

» Primus Suspect? Unions Seek Answers

» Big Australian’s Merger Faces Rocky Road

» Happy Hour for Heineken with a Half-Price Dollar

» Arnotts Workers Call for Consumer Boycott

» Asian Women at Work: Daring To Act

» Academic Sacking Sparks Global Row

» Labor Councillors Feel Childcare Heat

» Rail Workers Win Maintenance Security

» Knitwear Company Stitched Up Over AWAs

» Three Stripes and You’re Out

» Unions and Students Move on Harvard

» IT Workers Alliance – Last Call for Comment

» Our News Feed Hits 1000

» Activist Notebook

» The Soapbox

» The Locker Room

» Trades Hall

» Tool Shed

» The Great May Day Debate

» Questions for Macca

» Qantas on Impulse

» Compo: The Great Tradition

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