The September 2008 issue of Metal World, the magazine of the International Metalworkers Federation (IMF), features an interesting article by Kristyne Peter on organising precarious workers in the Indonesian IT sector.
A major challenge for unions in Indonesia, and specifically unions
organising workers in Export Processing Zones, is the rampant proliferation of contracted
and outsourced labour. According to trade union Lomenik SBSI, there has been a 20
per cent increase in the number of workers now employed precariously
since 2005. Lomenik estimates that 70 per cent of the country's
workforce is precariously employed, while the federation of metalworkers trade unions FSPMI predicts that in Batam
that number is much higher, speculating that 98 per cent of all workers
in Batam are hired on contract or outsourced through a labour agency. Download the full article.
