25 January, 2011More than seventy unionists attend three IMF-ILO ACTRAV workshops on EPZ organising in Indonesia.
INDONESIA: IMF affiliates, FSPMI and Lomenik, participated in three workshops under an International Labour Organization (ILO) Bureau of Workers (ACTRAV) project in January 2011 to gain knowledge and skills on organizing strategies for Export Processing Zones (EPZ) in Indonesia. The workshops were held in Medan in North Sumatra, Puncak in Java, and Batam in the Riau Islands, which is a short distance from Singapore. The workshops in Medan and Batam trained potential organizers to undertake voluntary organizing. The leadership of both the affiliates participated in a strategic planning meeting in Puncak.
Confidence building and motivation acted as a catalyst for the participants to engage in actively organizing the largely electronics supply chain companies located in EPZs which are spread around the country. The participants also learnt basic industrial mapping in the locations where they work, so as to carry out active organizing through the formation of voluntary organizing committees in the locations where EPZ workers are employed. The participants also learnt about ILO conventions and the local labour laws to understand their rights to organize.
It is a widely known fact that EPZs around the world employ large workforces of mostly women where trade union and workers' right are often denied or violated by the companies, which are mostly transnational corporations (TNCs). EPZs in Indonesia are no exception to such violations of rights and exploitation of workers. The top leadership of the two affiliates came out with a joint plan to organize these workers.
FSPMI President Said Iqbal and Lomenik President Eduard Marpaung stressed the urgent need for active organizing and empowerment of EPZ workers. IMF regional representative Arunasalam called upon the unions to make organizing a top priority given the present nature of employment, exploitation of the workforce and employers resistance in EPZs.