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Strengthening Trade Unions In Indonesia
11 December 2003
In Indonesia today over 50% of people are living below the poverty line. This has climbed from 11% in 1997 when the economy collapsed due to the corruption and excesses of the Suharto regime. In a labour force of 98 million there are between 20 and 30 million unemployed workers, and an even greater number of people are underemployed.
Kelly Dent with union trainers at the LEC
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In Indonesia today over 50% of people are living below the poverty line. This has climbed from 11% in 1997 when the economy collapsed due to the corruption and excesses of the Suharto regime. In a labour force of 98 million there are between 20 and 30 million unemployed workers, and an even greater number of people are underemployed. In the past five years real wages in the provinces have fallen from $US 69 a month to $US 48 a month, while in Jakarta wages are at the same level as they were five years ago despite high inflation.
Over 52% of the Indonesian budget is spent on debt repayment while only 7% is allocated to education and health. In a climate such as this the need for strong unions is more important than ever if workers are to win a fair wage.
Union Aid Abroad - APHEDA has been assisting the Labour Education Centre (LEC) undertake trade union training in Indonesia since 1989. The LEC has been training organisers and delegates and helping establish independent trade unions in factories in the industrial city of Bandung, about 200 kilometres east of Jakarta.
The Labour Education Centre is now commencing the second phase of their program that will run for three years. In this phase they will be working to establish and strengthen the network of trade union trainers for independent, inclusive and democratic unions in Indonesia. The first group of Indonesian union trainers attended a course in June run by former Australian union trainer, Kelly Dent. The course emphasised techniques for adult non-formal training, group facilitation, planning and development of a training session as well as how to use games, role plays and case studies in training courses and evaluation techniques.
Kelly has been working in Sri Lanka with unions for several years, and is now in Indonesia for six months to learn Bahasa. She kindly volunteered to spend three weeks at the LEC doing train-the-trainers courses.
Throughout this coming year the LEC will run regular in-service meetings for the union trainers, as well as further training on topics such as introduction to unions, negotiating for collective bargaining, trade union administration and finance, gender issues in unions, globalisation and workers, and skills for trainers.
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