BY JULIA PERKINS
JAKARTA — After marching with thousands of other workers on Parliament House here on May 1, 1500 workers from the Indian-owned textile company Texmaco camped outside overnight to protest against their treatment by their employer and demand higher wages.
The workers are all compulsorily enrolled in the All Indonesian Trade Unions (SPSI), the government-run puppet union formed under ex-dictator Suharto. The SPSI had agreed to Texmaco's offer of a 15% wage rise without consulting the workers.
However, the workers wanted a 30% pay rise, which would allow them to cover their basic living expenses, and a reduction in the number of Indian expatriates in top management positions at the company, who the workers claim are driving the company's costs up and thereby blocking their chances of better pay.
Because parliament was in recess, the workers could meet with only a few parties' representatives, including from the PDKB (the Love the Nation Democracy Party), the PKB (the National Awakening Party of President Abdurrahman Wahid) and Golkar, formerly Suharto's party. Neither the PKB nor Golkar were willing to give a firm commitment to help the workers. The PDKB promised to write a letter to Texmaco management supporting the workers' demands.
The company has not only refused to meet the workers' demands but has, with the agreement of the SPSI, closed the factory for three weeks and told the striking workers that they have until May 16 to re-register for their jobs.
The Texmaco workers have turned to the newly formed independent union federation, the Indonesian National Front for Labour Struggles (FNPBI), for assistance. The FNPBI's international relations officer, Romawaty Sinaga, told Green Left Weekly, "The workers are likely to win their demands if they stick together and refuse to re-register".