May Sari – Attended by 50 of its leading members, the Indonesian National Front for Labour Struggle (FNPBI) held its national council meeting in Cisarua, West Java, on February 13-15.

The Palembang Workers' Centre of Struggle and the South Kalimantan Workers' Centre of Struggle were present as observers; these groups have just formed and have not yet affiliated to the FNPBI.

Three major reports were discussed: building the FNPBI's organisation, presented by general secretary Ilham Syah; the national situation, presented by president Dita Sari; and the international situation presented by head of international relations, Romawaty Sinaga.

Syah's report discussed the FNPBI's successes and failures since its formation in May last year.

Affiliated organisations have increased from seven to 11, with two in the process of joining. Many workers trust the FNPBI and more workers in struggle are approaching the union for support. The union has expanded from its initial implantation in the garment and textile, electrical and chemical industries, to the transportation, maritime, forestry and mining industries.

The union's failures were mostly due to a lack of resources, poor communication between organisers because of having poor access to e-mail, telephones and pagers, and a lack of funds which made publishing leaflets and the FNPBI newsletter, Serbu, difficult. The FNPBI also cannot afford to pay the salaries of new organisers.

In her presentation on the Indonesian political situation, Dita Sari warned that the current government of President Abdurrahman Wahid and vice president Megawati Sukarnoputri cannot be trusted. It is a reformist and populist regime that seeks to use the people's trust to be Western imperialism's tool in Indonesia. Sinaga told delegates: "Capitalism has been globalised, therefore the labour movement should be also 'globalised'. It is important for all of us to have an international perspective and build solidarity as broad as possible. We also have to actively initiate actions against imperialism."

Following these discussions, there was one-day discussion about marking May Day in Indonesia.

The Indonesian labour movement has not celebrated May Day since the rise of the Suharto dictatorship in 1965. Instead, the regime sponsored activities on February 24, the anniversary of the formation of the official All Indonesian Trade Unions (SPSI).

After the fall of Suharto, May 1 was marked in 1999. At that time, only the Workers' Committee for Reform Action (KOBAR) and the Jakarta Workers' Union agreed to celebrate it.

"Those who truly fight for the workers' rights see that May Day is the big day for workers – the symbol of workers' victory against all exploitation and repression", Agus told delegates in his history of May Day.

The FNPBI council agreed to produce and distribute a pamphlet on May Day so workers can understand its significance and history. The FNPBI will also produce and distribute leaflets and posters to publicise the FNPBI's big rally in Jakarta this year. It will involve other workers', women's and students' organisations. It is expected that many international guests will also attend.

The main demands will be for the first of May to be recognised as a national public holiday so all workers can celebrate, and for a 100% wage increase. The universal slogan, "Workers of the world unite!", will be raised again in Indonesia.

'Parliament won't solve workers' problems'

Green Left Weekly - March 8, 2000

Twenty nine labour federations now operate in Indonesia. The National Front for Labour Struggle, which has 11 affiliated regional organisations, is one of the more important federations. Green Left Weekly's Jonathan Singer interviewed FNPBI president Dita Sari in January about the organisation's work and development.

The formation of new unions such as the FNPBI is a sign of a growing militancy amongst Indonesia's working class. Sari described a typical FNPBI action: demanding the reinstatement of workers sacked because of union activity.

In November, at a textile company in Jakarta, Sari said, "300 workers, almost the whole work force, went on strike for about three days".

Two hundred and fifty of the workers stayed overnight at the national parliament building. "We went to see Amien Rais [the speaker of the upper house, the MPR]," Sari said. The FNPBI then went to a labour court, which after several weeks ruled the company couldn't sack workers because they wanted to join a union.

"The important thing we wanted the workers to realise when we brought them to the parliament was that ... the new parliament can't solve the problems faced by the working class in general, because the labour law is still very much on the company's side."

Moreover, Sari said, the government of President Abdurrahman Wahid doesn't have "a new political orientation towards the working class." It has appointed as minister of labour the allegedly corrupt Bomer Basaribu, who under Suharto chaired the government-controlled union, the SPSI, and who in 1996 attacked the two independent workers' organisations, the PPBI and SBSI.

"We protested against this minister", Sari said. "Wahid said Akbar Tanjung, the head of the [lower house of] parliament guaranteed Barasibu. If true, the new government has no understanding ... and, especially, no clear program [to] build an economic and political policy for the working people."

The FNPBI is demanding changes to labour laws, Sari said, including an increase in the wage bonus for the Muslim holiday month from the current one month's pay to one month's pay for each year of employment, more union representation on the national committee determining minimum wages, and criminal sanctions for companies that abuse workers' rights.

Unemployment is a big problem for Indonesia's workers. Sari said, "We want to stop companies dismissing workers. We have launched a campaign for a 32-hour week.

"The working week is usually 40 hours. Then people work overtime as well because they want to earn more money. In the economic crisis, though, the companies say they cannot pay the workers more.

"We anticipated that and said it would be better if the workers work 32 hours – four days – a week, so the companies can cut other costs and won't overproduce. And the workers, during the other three days, can look for other income from the informal sector. "The 32-hour week would be on 40-hours pay. [Company] savings would be on the other costs."

Stopping the contract system is another important issue, Sari said. "The workers are hired for a certain job for a certain time. If work continues the workers can be rehired; if not, the companies just sack them. The companies don't have to pay compensation for sacking contract workers; if they were permanent, they would have to pay one month's wages."

Sari said there are four main union federations. The SPSI still exists and there is also the SPSI-Reform and the SBSI, led by Muchtar Pakpahan.

The SPSI-Reform "hardly ever show their strength, although SPSI-Reform joined in the action against Barasibu," Sari said. "We have joined in several demonstrations with the SBSI. Then there is the FNPBI."

The FNPBI was growing slowly, Sari said, among "dockworkers and other transport workers, and workers in manufacturing industries like textiles and also chemicals, metals, food and wood." The federation is also preparing to organise plantation workers, in cooperation with the peasant union, the STN.