Indonesian Sugar Federation Rallies for Trade Union Rights in Surabaya

Posted to the IUF website 17-Mar-2006

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The IUF-affiliated FSPM TG, the independent Indonesian union federation organizing in sugar mills, distilleries, plantations and tobacco production, held a mass rally in Surabaya, Java on Monday March 13 to show its determination to fight for union rights and full participation in collective bargaining talks with employers. Some 1,000 workers from every FSPM local union took part in the rally at the East Java Provincial parliament, where they were joined by members of the hotel workers' FSPM East Java branch.



The demonstration focused on the federation's demands for government action to

• reinstate FSPM president Daud Sukamto, who was suspended in March from his job at the privately-owned Gunung Madu Plantation in Central Lampung, Sumatra, Indonesia's largest sugar cane and mill complex



• implement the legally guaranteed minimum standards for workers at the state-owned (PTPN) X and XI sugar and tobacco complexes, including permanent status for contract workers who have qualified due to continuous employment and inclusion of casuals in the state social security scheme



• halt the on-going union busting at PTPN X and ensure inclusion of the federation's locals in collective bargaining at both state-owned complexes.

At the Parliament, a union delegation met with a member of the Social Affairs Committee, who promised to raise the issues with PTPN management. The demonstrators then moved on to the PTPN offices and eventually succeeded in conveying their demands to the PTPN X production director. The rally was covered iin both the local and national press.

International support can help boost the FSPM's struggle by building sustained pressure on the government of Indonesia. For more information, and to send a protest message, click here