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Letter of concern
As you are probably aware, Indonesian labour NGOs have already raised their concerns over a previous proposal between the Australian Confederation of Trade Unions (ACTU) and Serikat Pekerja Seluruh Indonesia (SPSI) and are concerned that this arrangement is simply a follow up of the SPSI-ACTU proposal. Although SPSI is not specifically mentioned in the new proposal, in our assessment, it is SPSI which will in fact be the main beneficiary of such a worker training program.
Industrial relations policy in Indonesia are based upon so called Pancasila Ideology, the guiding principles of the Indonesian state. Pancasila Industrial Relations (HIP) does not recognise the existence of competing interests between workers and employers. Rather, workers and employers are viewed as "equal partners" in the production process, inter-dependent upon each other and working in harmony to generate profit for their mutual benefit. In reality, this policy has been a means to ensure "industrial peace" and to contain workers demands for better wages and conditions. Employers remain free to dismiss workers without recourse, while industrial action by workers is prohibited.
Through a combination of authoritarian government regulations, "criminalisation" of labour cases by the judiciary and the use of military intervention in industrial disputes, the Indonesian government has sought to undermine any opportunities for workers to establish independent trade unions outside of organisations accepted by the government, that is SPSI. SPSI is allowed to monopolise the mechanisms of collective bargaining and is therefore, little more than a tool of the government for controlling the struggle for workers rights in Indonesia.
In our assessment therefore, the provision of funds for a worker training program will, in effect, provide de facto recognition to SPSI and thereby strengthen SPSI's political position both within Indonesia and in the International Community. This will have the following consequences:
NGO and worker activists in Indonesia are of the opinion that the right to form a trade union is a basic component in strengthening the bargaining position of workers. Within this framework, the right to organise, to express opinion, to form their own organisations, independent and unhampered by military intervention, are fundamental preconditions for ensuring that trade union and worker rights are upheld.Justify SPSI's efforts to become affiliated with the ICFTU in disregard of its role in restricting workers' right to organise; Undermine efforts by independent worker organisations and NGOs to improve the position of Indonesian workers.
In consideration of the above points and the involvement of the Australian government in the worker training agreement, we would be grateful if you could convey these concerns directly to your government.
27 October, 1994
Dr Adnan Buyung Nasution
Chairperson, YLBHI
CC: Mr Allaster Cox, First
Secretary
Mr Herman van der Laan,
Director, ILO Office Jakarta
Mr Martin Ferguson, President
ACTU