Indonesia

Dita Sari, a leading socialist, trade unionist and anti-sweatshop activist in Indonesia, looks at how women and migrant workers are faring in Indonesia today. For some time now, the countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America have been experiencing what is referred to as the feminisation of poverty. For centuries, colonialism encouraged backwardness in technological and human resources, inequality and a poor quality of life. Capitalism, which on the one hand opened the door to liberation and cultural enlightenment for women, at the same time exploits them. In the past and now, women are the...

By Katrina, FNPBI, Indonesia The Katexindo factory is located in North Jakarta. The workers produce clothes for well-known brands such as GAP, Polo, Ralph Laurent, Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger. Unlike hundreds of garment factories that have been hit by the current crisis, Katexindo seems in a stable condition. Recently they have been making clothes for Polo. The workers had been producing at a rate of 60 items per hour, but the company raised the quota to 85 items an hour. And although the Polo code of conduct states that all workers should work in a safe and sanitary environment, the...

By the FNPBI The workers of the Binoli factory have begun an occupation. Situated in north Jakarta, Binoli produces 6,000 items of GAP baby wear per day. On 21 April workers’ representatives were invited to see the manager. The company stated that working hours must be cut. Workers will be divided into two shifts, and wages reduced by 25 percent. On 23 April the company announced redundancies and the closure of the factory. The bosses announced that a worker with five years at the factory will obtain three months salary and 500,000 Rupiah (US$55), while those who have worked less than five...

More than 2,000 Indonesian garment workers have staged a strike to protest at their ill-treatment and unpaid overtime fees. The workers of Katexindo Citra Mandiri have been on strike since 14 May 14, according to the National Front for Indonesian Workers Struggle (FNPBI). FNPBI leader Dita Sari has said that the factory had forced the mostly female workers to work for more than eight hours a day. Katexindo is an Indonesian-owned garment factory producing for Gap, Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein. Dita Sari said: “Workers are being used as milking cows. They will not return to work until their...

ARGENTINA Last month a judged ordered that a public notice of ownership be posted at the ceramics Zanon factory in Argentina. The notice would have allowed a venture capitalist or the previous owner to buy Zanon Ceramics for pennies. More than 470 jobs and the workers’ administration of Zanon could have been in danger, as a new owner could have immediately requested their eviction of the factory. However as no “interested parties” registered, the judge had to close the registry and it cannot be re-opened. Zanon workers and their supporters are now lobbying the courts to declare the factory...

A group representing 52 trade unions has expressed “disappointment” with the poor performance of new Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono during his first 100 days in office. The trade unions, grouped in the Indonesian Labor Unions Communications Forum, said that Yudhoyono had failed to deliver on campaign promises. Forum chairman Eggy Sudjana said the government had done nothing to create jobs, to provide legal protection for Indonesians working overseas and failed to stop rampant abuse of Indonesian workers in Malaysia. Dita Sari, chair of the Indonesian Workers National Front...

Workers at the PT Sarasa Nugraha factory in Indonesia are entering their second year of a dispute over union busting. Workers belonging to the Enterprise Level Trade Union (SPTP) attempted to negotiate higher wages at the beginning of 2004. The company’s management became increasingly uncooperative, closing the factory in February 2004. Management offered severance pay to the workers of only 25% of the amount stipulated by law and offered employment to the workers only as new employees, taking away any seniority or benefits they held before the closure. With the help of an international...

A round-up of the latest news from working-class struggles around the world. Indonesia Airport workers in 13 cities in Indonesia are threatening to strike this weekend in protest at the government’s attempt to take over their pension fund. According to The Jakarta Post, workers at state airport operator PT Angkasa Pura had agreed to stage a “massive protest” from 18 to 20 January before going on strike on 21 January. Air traffic controllers at the 13 airports will notify all airplanes that they will not be able to land or take off from the airports, affecting flights to tourist resorts such as...

A round-up of international class struggle news China About 3,000 workers protested over wages and conditions outside the Computime factory in Shenzhen last month, blocking traffic for four hours. The workers’ monthly basic pay is around 230 Yuan — well below the 574 Yuan monthly minimum wage set by the Guangdong provincial government. Shenzhen is one of the richest cities on the mainland, and the cost of living there is considerably higher than in the rest of the country. One protester said: “We have to work 14 hours a day, seven days a week. The compensation for overtime is only 2 yuan an...