“WE have been encouraging the IndonesianGovernment to ratify the International Conventions on theProtection of Migrant Workers’ Rights. The Parliament willcontinue to push for the ratification of such International

Funded by the Norwegian Government, this annualevent was jointly conducted by the ILO through its MigrantWorkers Project and the Indonesian Migrant Workers TradeUnion (SBMI).

the RatificationIndonesian Migrant Workers

of International Conventions

Bilingual Edition, February 2009

Conventions,” exclaimed Sonny Sumarsono, Member ofthe Indonesian Parliament as well as the Head of theParliamentary Working Committee on Migrant Workers,during the one-day public dialogue entitled “ProvidingBetter Protection and Justice for Indonesian MigrantWorkers”. The Dialogue was held in conjunction with thecommemoration of the International Migrant Day 2008 on18 December 2008 in Jakarta.

Representatives of SBMI presented the ten demands before senior officials and hundreds ofIndonesian migrant workers, urging to strengthen the protection of migrant workers.

DEMANDED

Attended by around 500 Indonesian migrant workers,the Dialogue was a collaborative effort to promote basichuman rights and labour protection of migrant workers.

Alan Boulton, Country Director of the ILO in Indonesia,also emphasized the need for the Indonesian Governmentto ratify the international conventions for the protection ofmigrant workers’ rights, in particular the ILO ConventionsNo. 97 and 143 on the Protection of Migrant Workers andTheir Families. “The ratification of the internationalconventions will strengthen the position and bargaining

BONUS!

Publications

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igrant W

orker Project/ILO Jakarta

deserve better treatment and respect. Thus, the demandscall for a stronger commitment from all relevant parties toensure that the long legacy of exploitation and abuse facedby Indonesian migrant workers will be finally become athing of the past,” stated Franky Sahilatua, a prominentsinger who is also the goodwill ambassador of theIndonesian migrant workers.

Responding to the demands, Abdul Malik Harahap,Director of Placement of Overseas Workers who wasrepresenting the Minister of Manpower and Transmigration,stated that the Indonesian Government is committed toprovide better protection and services to IndonesianMigrant Workers. Similarly, Jumhur Hidayat, Head of theNational Board for Placement and Protection of Indonesian

From left to right: Jumhur Hidayat (Head of BNP2TKI), Franky Sahilatua (GoodwillAmbassador of the Indonesian Migrant Workers), Alan Boulton (Country Director of the ILOin Indonesia), and Abdul Malik Harahap (Director of Placement of Overseas Workers,Ministry of Manpower), showed their commitments by signing a large banner entailing theten demands.

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power of Indonesiawhen doing bilateralor multilateralnegotiations withreceiving countriesand, in the end, it willbenefit theIndonesian migrantworkers in manyways,” he said.

The ratification ofthese internationalconventions,according to LotteKejser, the ChiefTechnical Adviser ofthe ILO’s MigrantWorkers Project, willalso enable the Government of Indonesia to receive high-quality technical feedbacks and advice in order to improvethe Indonesian labour migration system, provided by theinternational conventions monitoring mechanisms underthe ILO and the United Nation systems. “Indonesia couldbenefit significantly from such technical feed-back andsupport,” she said.

The effectiveness of this approach has beendemonstrated by the Government of Philippines, thebiggest labour-sending country. The PhilippineGovernment has ratified both the International Convention

on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers andTheir Families, as well as the ILO Convention no. 143 onthe Protection of the Rights of Migrant Workers, as part ofits strategies to obtain better protection and conditions forits migrant workers.

The ratification of the international conventions wasalso part of the ten demands presented to seniorIndonesian Government officials by SBMI on behalf of allIndonesian migrant workers during the event. Thedeclaration was concluded by the signing of a large bannerentailing these ten demands by official governmentofficials, ILO, employment agencies, migrant workers’organizations, mass media, and migrant workers themselves.

“Together these ten demands urge the Government ofIndonesia and other relevant institutions to strengthen theprotection of Indonesian migrant workers. As the secondlargest contributor to Indonesia’s foreign exchange, they

Demands of theDemands of theDemands of theDemands of theDemands of theIndonesianIndonesianIndonesianIndonesianIndonesianMigrant WorkersMigrant WorkersMigrant WorkersMigrant WorkersMigrant Workers

1. RARARARARATIFY TIFY TIFY TIFY TIFY the UN International Convention on theProtection of the Rights of All Migrant Workersand Their Families, and the ILO Conventions No.97 and 143 concerning the Protection of theRights of Migrant Workers

2. AMEND AMEND AMEND AMEND AMEND Law No. 39 Year 2004 concerningOverseas Placement and Protection of IndonesianMigrant Workers.

3. ENFORCE ENFORCE ENFORCE ENFORCE ENFORCE President Instruction No. 6 Year 2006.

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Together these ten demands urge theGovernment of Indonesia and otherrelevant institutions to strengthen theprotection of Indonesian migrantworkers.”

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ON 27 November 2008, the Norwegian AmbassadorEivind Homme and the ILO Country Director Alan Boultonsigned a three-year funding agreement for 2008-2011 inthe amount of NOK 16.2 million for the continuation ofthe ILO Project on “Combating Forced Labour andTrafficking of Indonesian Migrant Workers” in Indonesia,Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong. The project,managed by Chief Technical Advisor Lotte Kejser, buildson the results

The ILO’The ILO’The ILO’The ILO’The ILO’s Migrant Ws Migrant Ws Migrant Ws Migrant Ws Migrant Workers Prorkers Prorkers Prorkers Prorkers Projectojectojectojectoject

EXTENDED for 3 years (2008-2011)

From left to right: Steen Bjørn Hanssen (Nowergian Embassay), Peter van Rooij (DeputyDirector of ILO in Indonesia), Mette Kottmann (Nowergian Embassy), Eivind Homme(Nowergian Ambassador), Alan Boulton (Country Director of ILO in Indonesia) and LotteKejser (CTA of ILO’s Migrant Workers Project)

4. REVISE REVISE REVISE REVISE REVISE the Ministerial Decree No. 20 Year2007 concerning Indonesian Migrant WorkersInsurance

5. CLARIFY the distribution of authority, roles andresponsibilities among government institutionsconcerned with migrant workers issues.

6. REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW the placement costs and protectionsystem of Terminal 4.

7. INVESTIGAINVESTIGAINVESTIGAINVESTIGAINVESTIGATE TE TE TE TE corruption allegations in theIndonesian labour migration system andprocess.

8. AUDIT AUDIT AUDIT AUDIT AUDIT the protection fund for migrant workers.

9. IMPROVE IMPROVE IMPROVE IMPROVE IMPROVE the departure and placement systemfor migrant workers.

10. INVOLINVOLINVOLINVOLINVOLVE VE VE VE VE the migrant workers’ trade unions inthe pre-departure process.

achieved from the first phase of the project from 2006-2008.

The project aims to eradicate forced labour andtrafficking of migrant workers in South East Asia, with aparticular focus on migrant domestic workers, who areparticularly vulnerable to abuse and exploitation both inIndonesia as well as in destination countries. Given suchpervasive human rights and labour rights violations againstmigrant domestic workers in Indonesia and in destinationcountries, the project’s main strategic components are

technical assistance for policy development andcapacity-building, support for advocacy andawareness raising, direct assistance and serviceprovision and targeted research anddocumentation.

These activities are planned andimplemented in cooperation with a broad rangeof stakeholders in Indonesia and the maindestination countries, such as national and localgovernment department and agencies, humanrights commissions, trade unions, migrant workersorganizations, NGOs and recruitment agencies.

“The Norwegian Government’s funding ofNOK 16.2 million for 2008-2011 will enable ILOand Indonesian stakeholders to continue thisimportant work, for the benefit of Indonesianmigrant domestic workers and their families whodepend on them, as well as for the benefit ofIndonesia and its destination countries,” said

Lotte Kejser, commenting on the extension.

Overseas Workers (BNP2TKI) said that the PresidentSusilo Bambang Yudhono already gave a direct order toimprove the services and protection to all Indonesianmigrant workers. “Indonesian migrant workers deserveno less than the best protection and services,” statedJumhur, quoting what the President said to him.

In addition, the event addressed the plight ofmigrant workers through a photo gallery whichdocumented training programmes and advocacyactivities conducted by the SBMI and the goodwillambassadors, as well as testimonies from former migrantworkers. The testimonies urged the IndonesianGovernment to recognize and protect Indonesianmigrant workers’ rights, in order to halt exploitation andhuman trafficking inherent in the migration process forIndonesian migrant workers currently.

©Jarle Kottmann/ILO Jakarta

Flash NEWS

Minister of Justice and Human Rights, M. AndiMattalatta, and Country Director of the ILO, AlanBoulton, during the commemoration of the HumanRights Day 2009 in Jakarta.

OnlyONLY a small number of companies in Indonesia

have written HIV and AIDS policies and implemented anyHIV and AIDS prevention and education workplaceprogrammes. In practice, most companies still decline thenewly recruited if they are found to be HIV positive,according to a new report released on Tuesday, 2December 2008. The report is being released inconjunction with the commemoration of the World AIDSDay.

The report found that many companies do notperceive HIV and AIDS as a threat to their companyperformance. However, the majority of companies in thesurvey (58 percent) still have HIV and AIDS free conditionas a requirement for career promotion and rotation.Fewer companies claim to have it as a cause for jobtermination, but the number is still high (50 percent). Thehealth condition of the employees and their special skillswere the main characteristics considered by thecompanies when employing HIV positive employees.

These key findings were discussed by SofjanWanandi, President of the Indonesian Employers’Association/Apindo), Dr. Nafsiah Mboi, Secretary ofNational Commission on AIDS, and Shinta WidjajaKamdani, Chair of Indonesian Business Coalition on AIDS.The discussion was live broadcast by the SmartFMnetwork in five provinces.

Dr. Nafsiah Mboi, Secretary of National Commissionon AIDS, confirmed the findings. She admitted that manycompanies tend to reject new recruits found to be HIVand AIDS positive. “It is disheartening. Many peopleliving with HIV are able to work for years without anydecline in their productivity and their overallperformance,” said Nafsiah.

2009 will be an interesting and difficult year forIndonesia. The global financial crisis is challenginggovernment, employers and workers. It will likely result in afall in employment and will put pressure on companies toreduce their costs. It is also an election year when thepeople will decide which parties and candidates have thebest policies for good government and development. Nodoubt employment will be a central theme in the nationalelection.

In many respects Indonesia is well-placed to deal withconsequences of the financial crisis. The lessons learntfrom the Asian financial crisis ten years ago and thechanges made following that crisis, including those relatingto democracy, labour rights and social dialogue, will enableIndonesia to develop better policies and strategies andcope with the effects of the current global crisis.Consultation and cooperation between government,employers and workers will be an important means forformulating and implementing strategies and minimizingthe impact of the crisis and to provide protection andsupport for businesses and workers.

The ILO is also well-placed to assist Indonesia this yearwith its continuing programmes in the fields of youthemployment, skills development, labour migration, childlabour and education and poverty reduction as well as withnew projects under development in the fields of labourintenstive infrastructure development, entrepreneurshiptraining, local economic development and green jobs. TheILO has already convened several high-level policy forumsabout strategies for dealing with the impact of theeconomic crisis on the world of work. The ILO Declarationon Social Justice for Fair Globalization adopted by theInternational Labour Conference in June 2008 will providethe basis for improved assistance of the ILO through itsDecent Work Country Programme for Indonesia.

Times of challenges can also be a time of opportunitiesfor making necessary improvement. This was theexperience in Indonesia with theAsian financial crisis. In many ways,difficult times bring out the best inpeople and cause us to focus on themost crucial issues.

We look forward to continueworking with our partners ingovernment, employers, unions,NGOs and donor communities andwith our colleagues in the ILO andother UN agencies in promoting fulland productive employment anddecent work for all Indonesians in2009.

From US

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Meanwhile, Shinta Widjaja Kamdani, chairwoman of theIndonesian Business Coalition on AIDS, said companiesneeded to see the impact of HIV/AIDS on their businessesbefore they would consider it a serious problem that had tobe addressed. Sofjan Wanandi, chairman of the IndonesianEmployers’ Association (Apindo), added that businessesneeded a “government push” to tackle the problem moreseriously. “The companies, however, can assist thegovernment, through HIV and AIDS education and trainingprogrammes for their workers.”

HIV and AIDS PoliciesFew Companies Have Written

to company regulation and only a few have the policyintegrated to collective labour agreement.

For companies who considered HIV and AIDS a threat,most mentioned the potential impact on productivity andabsenteeism (76 percent), recruitment and trainingexpenses (64 percent) as well as medical expenses (71percent). Papua, followed by Riau Islands, were the regionswith the highest concern about the potential impact oncompany performance.

Generally, the survey found that most companies donot pay enough attention to the epidemic. Approximately

91 percent ofcompanies do notallocate regular budgetto HIV and AIDSprevention. Onlyaround 29 percentcompanies provideregular health test foremployees, of whichonly 31 percent includea HIV and AIDS test.

IN 2009,the ILO willmark its 90th

anniversary. Inrecognition ofthis milestonethe ILO’s tripartite constituents will organize high levelnational events, under the theme of social dialogue ondecent work for a fair globalization. The events will takeplace between 21 and 28 April. It was on 28 April 1919that the draft of the ILO’s original Constitution wasapproved by the Versailles Peace Conference.

The study was conducted by the ILO in collaborationwith Taylor Nelson Sofres (TNS), a leading multinationalresearch company. The study involved 803 companies andwas conducted in four provinces (DKI Jakarta, East Java,Riau Islands and Papua), covering secondary cities in eachof the provinces (Malang, Sidoarjo, Tanjung Pinang, Timikaand Sorong).

“These cities were selected due to their highprevalence or risk of HIV and AIDS cases. Papua is the onlyregion that has a significantly higher prevalence rate thanother regions. Most of the companies surveyed wereprivately owned domestic companies,” explained TauvikMuhamad, the ILO’s programme officer, adding that trading,manufacturing and construction were the dominant sectors,together with the hospitality sector in Papua and RiauIslands.

In addition, the study found that among the fewcompanies (less than 10 percent) that claimed to have awritten policy on HIV and AIDS, many of them integrated it

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Special FEATURE

In BRIEF

Daily working situation in one of the factories. (Insertion) The AIDS World Day Talkshow.

Headline 1From Us 4

Child Labour 12Flash News 3Employment 6Migrant Workers 12

Social Protection 18From the Region 19

Social Dialogue 16In Brief 4, 7, 25

Agenda 28Staff Corner 28

what’s inside?

Creating Decent and ProductiveEMPLOYMENT in Indonesia

Azita Berar-Awad, Director of Employment Policy Department, ILO Geneva, and Dr.Bambang Widianto, Deputy Minister for the Evaluation of Development Performance,Ministry of State for National Development Planning during the policy dialogue.

The PolicyDialogue notedthat theemploymentstrategy needs toaddress not onlythe quantity ofjobs but also theirquality and theissue of poverty.”

THE The ILO is supporting the Government ofIndonesia in placing decent and productive employment atthe centre of economic and social policies. In August 2008,the ILO in collaboration with the National DevelopmentPlanning Agency (Bappenas) hosted a Policy Dialogue on aStrategy for Creating Decent and Productive Employmentin Indonesia. The Policy Dialogue was timely as theGovernment in the second half of 2008 began preparingthe next Medium-Term Development Plan 2010-14.

It explored various issues such as setting employmenttargets; promoting decent work through infrastructureinvestments; skills strategies; promoting sustainable

enterprises; targeted labour market policies for youth; andimproved mechanisms for decentralized collectivebargaining and dispute resolutions.

In preparation of the Policy Dialogue, the ILO preparedtwo documents: the Labour and Social Trends in Indonesia2008: Progress and Pathways to Job-rich Development anda working paper titled “Enunciating a national employmentstrategy for Indonesia – what do we know and what shouldwe do?” The two documents will serve as strategic inputsinto the development of the next Medium-TermDevelopment Plan.

Alan Boulton,Country Director ofthe ILO in Indonesia,stated that the PolicyDialogue hadunderscored theimportance of acomprehensivenational employmentstrategy, withappropriate targetsand a monitoring andevaluation framework.“The Policy Dialoguenoted that theemployment strategyneeds to address notonly the quantity ofjobs but also theirquality and the issue of poverty,” he said.

Kee Beom Kim, Economist of the ILO in Indonesiaadded that a strategy needed to carefully balance the needfor economic flexibility with that of security for workers.“There was a consensus that ways of promoting decent andproductive employment in the formal sector and in labour-intensive industries needed to be examined and infacilitating the movement of workers from less productivejobs to more productive jobs.”

The employment strategy also needed to address skillsdevelopment through a sectoral-based approach, thepromotion of sustainable enterprises, the facilitation of bothdomestic and overseas labour migration. The multipleissues associated with the employment strategy required arenewed focus on policy coherence betweenmacroeconomic and labour market policies and in placingdecent employment at the centre of economic, labour andsocial policies. In all of these areas, there was a need tocontinue supporting the Government of Indonesia in thedevelopment of the next Medium-Term Development Plan.

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EmployMENT

With Indonesia undergoing decentralization, it wasimportant for the employment strategy to take this issueinto account. Furthermore, the design and implementationof a comprehensive employment strategy requiredmeaningful social dialogue. In this respect, it was importantto build the capacities of the Government, workers’ andemployers’ organizations.

ILO/OECD Experts Meeting on FosteringILO/OECD Experts Meeting on FosteringILO/OECD Experts Meeting on FosteringILO/OECD Experts Meeting on FosteringILO/OECD Experts Meeting on Fosteringlocal employment and skills strategies inlocal employment and skills strategies inlocal employment and skills strategies inlocal employment and skills strategies inlocal employment and skills strategies in

Indonesia and the PhilippinesIndonesia and the PhilippinesIndonesia and the PhilippinesIndonesia and the PhilippinesIndonesia and the Philippines

As a follow-up to the Policy Dialogue held in August2008, which had emphasized the need fo r employmentstrategies to take into account the context ofdecentralization, the ILO partnered with the Organizationfor Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) tobring together leading policymakers and experts fromIndonesia, Philippines and OECD member countries todiscuss and share local employment and skills challengesand development approaches.

The experts meeting explored a number of key areasincluding upgrading the skills of the low-qualified;integrating the vulnerable into the labour market; policyimplementation mechanisms in the context ofdecentralization; employment services at the local level;skills development in the urban context; and the design andgovernance structure of effective local policies.

One important theme that emerged from thediscussions was the critical need for partnerships, betweengovernments, the business community, workers and otherstakeholders, in developing and implementing employmentand skills strategies at both central and local levels. Thecurrent context of the global financial crisis underscoredthe importance of partnerships for solution identificationand efficiency.

“The Experts Meeting underscored the critical need topromote employment and productivity growth throughappropriate skills development based on qualifications andcompetencies,” said Alan Bouton, Country Director of theILO in Indonesia.

Skills development, according to Kee Beom Kim,Economist of the ILO in Indoneisa, in particular had to takeinto account the needs of small- and medium- sizedenterprises, which in countries such as Indonesia and thePhilippines typically operated in the informal economy andwhich absorbed the vast majority of the workforce. “Thus,better and relevant labour market information and statisticsare necessary for policy-making at both central and locallevels,” he added.

The experts meeting also highlighted that there wasconsiderable scope for the OECD and the ILO tostrengthen its collaboration including on research, capacity-building, and expanding the information sharing betweenother ASEAN and OECD countries.

A series of ILO Photo Exhibitions:

A Portrait of theWorld of Work inIndonesia

ON the occasion of the visit of Minister Donner toIndonesia, the Dutch Ministry of Social Affairs andEmployment hosted the photo exhibition “A Portrait of theWorld of Work in Indonesia” from 13 - 30 October in TheHague, the Netherlands. Minister Donner attended theASEM meeting in Bali together with colleagues fromEurope and Asia.

The photo exhibition in The Hague informed staff inthe Ministry and visitors of the Decent Work agenda of theILO in general and more specifically the issues the ILOworks on in Indonesia. The exhibit and (other) materials onthe ILO were very well received and provided the ILO withan opportunity to strengthen the linkages with andbetween constituents.

The photo exhibition marked the fourth exhibition ofthe Portrait of the World of Work in Indonesia. The firstexhibition was held in Jakarta for a whole month in May2007, followed by Geneva for the ILO’s annual InternationalLabour Conference in June 2008, and in Turin (theInternational Training Centre) in July 2008. Next year, it thephotos are planned to be displayed in Berlin.

Most photos were taken by a national journalist, M.Asrian Mirza, and a picture about work in Aceh, taken by aFrench photojournalist, Thierry Falise.

Visitors of the Hague exhibition in Netherlands.

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©ILO/ILO Jakarta

In BRIEF

SOSIMUS Mekas was the ProvincialCoordinator of the ILO’s Education and Skills Training foryouth employment (EAST) project in East Nusa Tenggara

(NTT). He used tobe called Pak Sosby his colleagues.He was known as adedicated andgenerous person,with a big smile onhis face. At thebeginning of the2009, on the first ofJanuary, Pak Soswas called to rest.He was buried inKupang on 4January 2009.

Pak Sos earnedhis first degree inEnglish literaturefrom the Universityof Nusa Cendana inKupang, where he

used to teach. He won an AusAID scholarship and earned amaster’s degree in linguistics from the University of Sydney,Australia. Before joining the ILO in November 2007, heworked for Save the Children and AusAID NTT. He was bornin Kumba-Manggarai (NTT), on 29 March 1956. Pak Sos wasmarried with Mariana Aghow (Ance), and together they hadtwo children, Maria Dulcisima Mekas (Cici) and PetrusPhilipus Mekas (Rusli). Cici recently graduated fromuniversity and Rusli is still in high school.

“With the death of Pak Sos, we have all lost anexcellent colleague and above all a friend. He was theperson who thought and acted beyond his direct tasks. Wewill carry on the work and he will be with us, in our thoughtsand actions. He has inspired us all,” said Peter van Rooijwhen conveying his condolences on behalf of all the ILOstaff during the funeral ceremony.

All of the ILO staff convey our most sincere sympathy toPak Sos’ family, relatives and friends. He has given significantcontributions to the ILO’s works in NTT.

May he rest in piece. Selamat jalan Pak Sos…

In Memoriam

A Sectoral EmploymentA Sectoral EmploymentA Sectoral EmploymentA Sectoral EmploymentA Sectoral Employmentfor the Nextfor the Nextfor the Nextfor the Nextfor the Next

From left to right: Maxensius Tri Sambodo (The Indonesian Institute of Sciences/LIPI), Dr. MesdinSimaritama (National Development Planning Agency), Dr. Rahma Iryanti (National DevelopmentPlanning Agency), Teuku Rahmatsyah (ILO), Prof. Dr. Sri Moertiningsih Adioetomo (LD-UI), DeniFriawan (CSIS), and Dr. Kodrat Wibowo (CEDS-UNPAD).

stakeholders on 9 December 2008 in one of a series ofworkshops on employment strategic issues. The findingsand recommendations will be incorporated in the nextmedium-term development plan 2010-2014.

AS a follow up to the recommendations from thePolicy Dialogue on a Strategy for Creating Decent andProductive Employment in Indonesia, which was held inJakarta on 21-22 August 2008, the ILO through its JobOpportunities for Youth (JOY) programme initiated anassessment of the labour market for the employment-intensive manufacturing sectors. The assessments wereaimed to improve the understanding of present and futureopportunities for employment in selected sub-sectors, toprovide suitable recommendations to remove existingobstacles and to improve employment levels in these sub-sectors.

In consultation with the National DevelopmentPlanning Agency (Bappenas), the ILO-JOY programmeidentified three sub-sectors that were considered asemployment-intensive priority sub-sectors, namely: i) Foodand beverages, ii) Electrical appliances, electricalmachineries and machineries, and iii) Textile, textileproducts and footwear sub-sectors. Three reputableresearch institutions were also appointed to conduct theassessments: the Center for Economics and DevelopmentStudies of the Padjadjaran University (CEDS-UNPAD), theDemographic Institute of the University of Indonesia (LD-UI)and the Centre for Strategic and International Studies(CSIS).

The three assessments revealed interesting findingsrelated to the character of each sub-sector. These keyfindings were presented to Bappenas and other

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EmployMENT

K E Y F i n d i n g s

Strategy ApproachTTTTTerm erm erm erm erm Development PlanDevelopment PlanDevelopment PlanDevelopment PlanDevelopment PlanMedium-Medium-Medium-Medium-Medium-

Food and Beverages Sub-sector

Most of production workers are junior high school graduates with a tendency toemploy more senior high school graduates; while, supervisory and managerialpositions are occupied by diploma or undergraduate degree holders with qualityassurance skills in demand. However, linkages and networking between the business

sector and training providers are still lacking, leaving many graduates unable to find suitable jobs with theskills that they have acquired. Thus, one of the recommendations from the CEDS-UNPAD is for the firms toimprove their workers’ skills by collaborating with training providers that are properly accredited with thesupport of the government.

Electrical appliances, electrical machineries andmachineries sub-sector

Undertaken by LD-UI, this sub-sector looks promising, especially in terms ofaccessing latent domestic demand. Despite the increasing competition fromimported products, nationally produced products would still be competitive within

the domestic market provided that the government is more committed to combating illegally importedproducts and to improve customs performance. Another significant finding is that the sub-sector isdependent on the import of components, the value added to the sector is small, and it is dominated witheither semi-skilled or un-skilled workers as a result of the sub-sector’s labour market equilibrium. There isclearly a need for the government to raise the skill equilibrium in the sub-sector through policies on the FDInature and type of joint ventures that influence the types of skills required in this sub-sector.

Textile, textile products and footwear sub-sector

CSIS found that after a decade of economic crisis, the performance of thissub-sector has declined with a decrease in real growth and poor exportperformance due to a range of factors, among others: high energy and labourcosts, illegal imports, increase in competition in the international market, and alack of investment that is reflected in about 80% of machineries being old. There

is also an indication of a major structural transformation in this industry, moving from labour-intensivetowards more capital-intensive.

While the majority of workers are low-skilled labour with an elementary and junior high schooleducation, this sub-sector is in shortage of high-trained workers as educational institutions such as theAdvanced School of Textile Technology (STTT) is still unable to fill the gap. The study recommendedstrengthening the customs system to curb illegal products, increase investment in infrastructure support,facilitate business friendly environment through regulatory and bureaucratic reform, and strengthen therelated educational institutions to meet the growing demand for skilled workers in the textile industry.

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EmployMENT

IN an effort to assist child labourers to go back toschool, the ILO through its International Programme for theElimination of Child Labour (ILO-IPEC) conducted a series oftwo and a half day trainings on socialization of transitionaleducation. The trainings were jointly conducted incollaboration with Local Education Office in three targetedareas: Sukabumi in West Java from 25- 27 July 2008,Banyuwangi in East Java from 23 – 25 August 2008 andMedan in North Sumatra from 24 - 26 October 2008.

Targeted towards teachers and tutors, a total of 90teachers and tutors from selected schools participated inthe training. These schools were selected for their high rateof drop-out children from surrounding villages. “The

either non-formal community schools or to formal schoolfacilities prior to, during or after regular classes.

In the trainings, the participants were trained to providethe bridging course for child labourers and other vulnerablechildren who are at risk of becoming child labourers. Theywere also trained on how to develop lessons learnt forremedial classes for low achieving children to prevent themfrom dropping out and becoming child laborers. “I learntnew teaching models to be applied at classes and foundhow weak my current teaching style was. The training hasreminded me of the influence my teaching style has to thechildrens’ motivation,” said one of the participants in theirfeedback card.

To make thetraining moreinteresting forthe participants,the participantsfrom NorthSumatra weretaken to watchthe LaskarPelangi movie.The movie hadsuccessfullyinspired theparticipantsregarding therole of teachersin motivating thechildren. “I criedduring the movie and remembered myschool in the village. I was motivated by the movie

to learn many things in the training to keep the children atschool” said Suprapti, the participant from Sipispis, NorthSumatra.

At the end of the training, each school developed adraft program structure for both the bridging course andthe remedial program that will be implemented in theirschool. . . . . The main challenge identified, however, was toprovide a better understanding about issues related to childlabourers, not only to the participants but also to thesurrounding communities.

“Local communities still have a lack of understandingabout the terms of child labourers. For them, it is normal forchildren to work to help their parents getting additionalincome,” said Arum. “However, we believe that all childrenshould go to school for a better future as an adult. We canstrengthen their education through the remedial and thebridging course program.”

TRANSITIONAL EDUCATION

Learning condition in one of the schools in Indonesia.

Back to School through

The remedialeducation providesreturning childrenwith special remedialsupport within aregular classroomcontext; while thebridging educationinvolves an intensivecompensatory coursedesigned to raiseacademic proficiency.

trainings focused on improving the capacities of teachersand tutors in designing an effective bridging course andremedial classes for children re-entering the school usingthe Transitional Education Manual,” said Arum Ratnawati,Chief Technical Adviser of the ILO-IPEC Programme.

In bringing the children back from dropping out andfrom work to schools, transitional education plays animportant role in smoothing the transition process to bringthese children back to formal and non-formal educationsystems as well as to assist them to stay in the system. Thereare two types of assistance given by the transitionaleducation: remedial education and a bridging course.

The remedial education provides returning childrenwith special remedial support within a regular classroomcontext; while the bridging education involves an intensivecompensatory course designed to raise academicproficiency. This atypical education appears suitable to

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Child LABOUR

STRENGTHENING the capacity of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in dealing with childlabour is urgently needed. Considering the complexity ofchild labour problems in Indonesia, in particular its worstforms, it is important for relevant stakeholders to havesufficient capacity to solve the problem.

Therefore, to improve the capacities of the localpartners in implementing action programmes against theworst forms of child labour (WFCL), the ILO through its ChildLabour Programme (IPEC) conducted trainings on design,management and evaluation (DME) from 13 – 17 October2008 in Jakarta and on 15 – 19 December 2008 in Jember,East Java.

Improving Actionsagainst CHILD LABOUR

A total of 56 programme staff from 28 institutionsparticipated in the trainings. These selected participants willbe invited to participate in the next bidding process toimplement the ILO-IPEC’s action programmes in four types ofworst forms of child labour: plantation sector, child domesticlabour, street children, and child trafficking.

In the training, the participants were introduced to variouschild labour issues, ranging from understanding child labourand its worst forms, developing action programme, managingfinancial issue as required by the ILO-IPEC, to understandingdirect beneficiary monitoring and record (DBMR) system,managing child labour monitoring system and mainstreaminggender into action programmes against child labour.

Applying a participatory approach, the participants wereencouraged to actively share their knowledge andexperiences. They were also guided on how to develop orimprove their draft action programmes against child labour.“For most of us, this kind of training was the first trainingwhere we were facilitated to develop such programmes with aclear logical framework,” said Ayun, an activist from Traffickingof Women and Children District Committee, Jember.

Sarlistiarso, a participant from West Java, appraised thechild beneficiaries monitoring form. “The form will help us a lotwhen doing the monitoring and can be used as a usefulreference to identify which children have already beenwithdrawn and which have been prevented to enter suchwork.” Similarly, Dede Suhendri, a participant from Lampung,said that the tools introduced in the training will be able to easeand smooth the implementation of the action programmes.

Ahmad Marzuki, one of trainers, applauded the efforts andenthusiasms shown by the participants. “They were veryserious to well absorb the training information. Although theystill need to improve their capacity on logical frameworks, theyare very keen to learn. I believe this can develop a moredynamic, more constructive, and stronger network on childlabour.”

NEW REGULATIONfor Better Futurewithout Child Labour

Minister of Home Affairs of the Republic ofIndonesia, Mardiyanto, recently issued the Decree ofMinister of Home Affairs No. 6 Year 2009 concerningGeneral Guidelines on Establishment of the RegionalAction Committee, Development of the Regional ActionPlan, and Community Development on the Elimination ofthe Worst Forms of Child Labour (WFCL). The Decreeaims to encourage the provincial/city government toexpedite the implementation of the National Action Plan(NAP) on Elimination of WFCL in Indonesia. This is also tosupport the coordination, integration, and sustainabilityof the NAP.

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Child LABOUR

Breaking NEWS

WANITI, 38 years old, is living withher three kids in Kasembon Malang District,East Java. She is a former migrant worker whoonce worked in Hong Kong as a domesticworker for five years from 1999 to 2003. Whenworking in Hong Kong, Waniti admits that shehad little knowledge about managing hersalary. She mostly spent her income on dailyhousehold expenditures for foods and othernecessities. “I spent it for my children’seducation, and to buy a house and a rice fieldfor my family. I never thought of saving myincome or using it for business,” she said.

She started to learn about the importanceof saving andinvestmentwhen shejoined atrainingconducted by theIndonesian MigrantWorkers’ Union in HongKong. When she finallycame back home, shestarted a businessassociation with otherformer migrant workers in2005 in the form of amigrant workers’cooperative. “At first, Ididn’t know what to do toget income in the village. Ieven thought to work

overseas again. Then, after finding it difficult to get a loanfrom the bank, I decided to try establishing a cooperativecalled Koperasi TKI Purna Citra Bumi Mandiri,” she stated.

Waniti learnt that most of the banking institutionsrefused to deal with clients with limited income or money.Yet, most of former migrant workers like her are only able tosave a limited amount of money from Rp. 1000 to Rp.10.000 (USD 10 cent to 1) per month. After establishmentshe then expanded the services provided by thecooperative. The cooperative is now providing variousproducts from food and agricultural products, dairy milk, tofertilizer and micro credit.

The cooperative in collaboration with variousinstitutions also provides its members with trainingprogrammes. Together with the ILO through its Cross-Border Labour Migration Project, the cooperative hasprovided cooperative management and step down start

to a to a to a to a to a Cooperative LeaderCooperative LeaderCooperative LeaderCooperative LeaderCooperative Leader

your business (SYB) trainings. Funded by the Governmentof Japan, the five-year project has run since 2005 andspecifically covers East Java, as one of the main sendingareas of migrant workers. The project focuses onknowledge base and policy research, statistical andinformation systems, national policy and institutionalreforms, improved bilateral cooperation, capacity buildingfor good governance of migration process, and effectiveremittance systems and productive investment.

“We also work together with the Seafast Centre, atraining provider from the Bogor Agricultural Institute (IPB),to conduct training on food safety and processing and withthe Malang District Manpower Office on traditional herbs.These trainings have stimulated many former migrantworkers to start up their businesses,” said Muhamad Nour,the ILO’s Project Coordinator in East Java.

The ILO, said Muhamad, recognizes the greater role ofmigrant workers cooperatives in migrant communities topromote productive use of remittances, as most ofpersonnel in the cooperative are former migrant workerswith similar background and experiences.

The Citra Bumi Mandiri cooperative has formallyregistered at the Malang District Cooperative Office in2008. With a total of 29 key members and 100 migrantfamilies, the cooperative now has total assets of Rp. 130million. Its members have benefited from the productiveuse of remittances, credit for health and education andincome generating activities. The self-confidence of Wanitihas also proved that women can play an important role insocio-economic activities to improve the lives of theirfamilies and their communities.

From a Migrant Worker

The cooperativesnot only cangenerate incomebut also createjobs throughmultiplier effectsthat in turn willenable other ruralenterprises togrow and providelocal jobs.

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Migrant WORKERS

THE recent ILO study, “Leveraging MigrantWorkers’ Remittances and Their Impact on EconomicDevelopment”, found that the vast majority of migrantworkers’ families depend entirely on the remittances sentby their loved ones overseas. For Indonesia, migrantworkers’ remittances, USD 6.1 billion annually, constitutethe second-most important source of foreign income. For agrowing number of Indonesian provinces, remittancesconstitute their most important source of income,surpassing the role of national government transfers.

Yet, registered Indonesian remittances continue todecrease in both absolute and relative terms, also whencompared to other Asian countries. As a result, in 2007registered Indonesian remittances were only 1.6 percent ofGDP, whereas registered Philippine remittances for 2007constituted 13 percent of GDP.

RemittancesRemittancesRemittancesRemittancesRemittances for Productive Investmentfor Productive Investmentfor Productive Investmentfor Productive Investmentfor Productive Investmentin Indonesiain Indonesiain Indonesiain Indonesiain Indonesia

Utilizing

The study was commissioned by the ILO through itsProject on Combating Forced Labour and Trafficking ofIndonesian Migrant Workers, funded by the NorwegianGovernment. Conducted in five provinces, (West Java, EastJava, Central Java, Lampung and West Nusatenggara), thestudy analyzed the financial needs of migrant workersthroughout the migration and reintegration process anddocumented the utilization of remittances by migrantdomestic workers and their families, as well as existingfinancial services available to migrant workers and theirfamilies.

The study was discussed and reviewed by seniorrepresentatives of all main national and selected localstakeholders at the National Stakeholder Consultation on25 November 2008 in Jakarta. “Apart from improving thestandard of living of their own families, Indonesian migrantworkers are also helping the economic growth of their

country,” exclaimed Abdul Malik Harahap, Director ofPlacement of Indonesian Overseas Workers, DirectorateGeneral of Placement of Workers, Ministry of Manpowerand Transmigration in his opening remarks.

Alan Boulton, Country Director of ILO in Indonesia, saidthat remittances of migrant workers play a crucial role insupporting the poorest segments of society in Indonesia.“Not only do remittances provide sustenance for migrantworkers’ families, but it also enables them to improve theirlives. Facilitating migrant workers’ access to financial servicesand information, thus, boosts migrant workers’ utilization ofremittances for savings and productive investment, which inturn will strengthen the positive impact of migration onIndonesian economic and social development,” he added.

The studyfound that only aminority of migrantworkers and theirfamilies useremittances forbusinessdevelopment. Theyinstead spend it ondaily householdexpenditure forfoods and othernecessities. Thisreflected the factthat most migrantworkers’ familiesare from a poor,

rural background, with no other significant means ofincome.

The study furthermore found that Indonesianmigrant workers have no effective access to financialservices and loans from commercial banks andmicrofinance institutions at any stage of the migrationprocess, from the pre-departure to the reintegration phase.In addition, the majority of migrant workers consideredinformal remittances services, transferred through friends,relatives, middlemen, or hand-carried by migrant workersthemselves, easier, cheaper and more effective comparedto the formal ones.

The study concluded that financial institutions shouldimprove their capacity to tap the potential market of migrantworkers with financial products and services tailored to theirneeds and widely accessible at the local level. The studyalso urged local governments to put financial education andbusiness development programmes at community level as apriority.

MIGRANT WORKER’S

Apart fromimproving thestandard of livingof their ownfamilies,Indonesianmigrant workersare also helpingthe economicgrowth of theircountry.

One of the discussion sessions held at the National Stakeholder Consultation on remittancein Jakarta.

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Migrant WORKERS

THE Indonesia Youth Employment Network (IYEN)continues its commitment to find innovative strategies andprogrammes to tackle youth unemployment in Indonesia.The IYEN emphasizes the importance of mainstreaming theissue of youth employment into the next Medium TermDevelopment Plan 2009-2014 as guidance for thedevelopment of the next Indonesia Youth EmploymentAction Plan.

To further discuss the next Action Plan, the Ministry ofCoordinating Economic Affairs facilitated a focus groupdiscussion from 27 – 28 November 2008 to collect inputsand feedback from various stakeholders on key strategies

and programmes for youth employment in Indonesia. Thediscussion was attended by representatives fromgovernment, employers’ organizations, trade unions andyouth organizations.

During the discussion, Peter van Rooij, DeputyDirector of the ILO in Indonesia, stated that Indonesia isthe only lead country which has completed the evaluationof its action plan and the other eighteen lead countrieswill review and learn from Indonesia’s experiences. Healso provided an overview on strategies developed byBrazil, Syria and some African countries in tackling youthemployment issues.

In Brazil, for example, in 2007 the BrazilianGovernment announced its intention to develop a newyouth employment policy under a unified program calledProjovem (the unification of various programs from acrossvarious ministries), which by 2010 aims to provideprovided educational, social and professional qualificationopportunities to 4.2 million young people between theages of 15 and 29 in socially vulnerable situations.

He also shared experiences from Mali, where theprivate sector has created an internship programme foryoung people in local businesses. In Senegal, Guinea andSierra Leone, the private sector has initiated programmeson business development for job creation through businessmentors and access to finance for young entrepreneurs.

At the end of the meeting, participants proposedseveral programs that should be taken as priorities in thenext action plan. They are: 1) Better policy and programmeson skills training for young people; 2) Improving theenvironment for young entrepreneurs; 3) Improving labourmarket regulations to the benefit of young women andmen; 4) Protecting the rights of work for young workers; 5)Transparent, accountable and accessible labor marketinformation system for youth; and 6) Promoting genderequality in employment for youth.

Peter van Rooij, Deputy Director of the ILO in Indonesia, shared international experienceson youth employment.

INDONESIA to formulate

Youth EmploymentTHE SECONDAction Plan

EditorEditorEditorEditorEditor-in-Chief:-in-Chief:-in-Chief:-in-Chief:-in-Chief: Alan Boulton

Deputy EditorDeputy EditorDeputy EditorDeputy EditorDeputy Editor-in-Chief:-in-Chief:-in-Chief:-in-Chief:-in-Chief: Peter van Rooij

Executive Editor:Executive Editor:Executive Editor:Executive Editor:Executive Editor: Gita Lingga

Editorial Coordinator:Editorial Coordinator:Editorial Coordinator:Editorial Coordinator:Editorial Coordinator: Gita Lingga

Circulation: Circulation: Circulation: Circulation: Circulation: Budi Setiawati

Contributors:Contributors:Contributors:Contributors:Contributors: Abdul Hakim, Albert Y. Bonasahat, ArumRatnawati, Dede Shinta Sudono, Fauzan Azhima, GitaLingga, Kee Beom Kim, Lotte Kejser, Lusiani Julia, M.Bey Sonata, Muhamad Nour, Matthieu Cognac, OliviaNevissas, Riska Efriyanti, Rolly Damayanti, TeukuRahmatsyah, and Vanda Day.

Design & Production:Design & Production:Design & Production:Design & Production:Design & Production: Balegraph

ILO Jakarta NewsletterMenara Thamrin Building, Level 22Jl. M. H. Thamrin Kav 3, Jakarta 10250, IndonesiaPh. (62-21) 391-3112, Fax (62-21) 310-0766Email: jakarta@ilo.org, Website: www.ilo.org/jakarta

The ILO Jakarta Newsletter is a bilingual newsletter aimed atdealing with the very substance of the ILO Jakarta’s work inIndonesia. The newsletter is published three times a yearand is also available online. The opinions expressed hereindo not necessarily reflect the views of the ILO.

Editorial

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EmployMENT

UPGRADING the skills of managers

in MICROFINANCEMICROFINANCE institutions in Indonesia

play an important role in supporting the development ofmicro, small and medium enterprises by providing access toa range of financial services. The sector is gearing upparticularly in semi urban and rural areas, reaching morepeople from informal to formal economy. With more than10,280 microfinance institutions in the country, the sectorwill need skilled and well trained senior and middlemanagers to improve the performance of their institutionsas well as accommodate for the increased outreach to smallenterprises and people who are self-employed.

Realizing the future opportunities of the microfinanceindustry on the demand of skilled and competent workers,the ILO with the support from theIndonesian Central Bank has beenimplementing a one-year pilotprogramme, Making Microfinance Work:Managing for Improved Performance. Thisprogramme is designed to upgrade themanagerial skills of senior and middlemanagers of micro finance institutions(MFIs).

The certification for trainers onMaking Microfinance Work is aninternational recognition which has beenimplemented in Africa, Central Asia,Europe, the Middle East, North Americaand Southeast Asia by the ILO’sInternational Training Center in Turin, Italy.Applicants should undertake threephases, which include face-to-facetraining with the ILO master trainers, midexam and a two-week training of trainers.

After completed the training, they are required todeliver a similar training for managers under the supervisionof the master trainer and to pass the final exam. The trainerswho meet the certification criteria during this delivery willbe then accredited and will be able to offer the course onbehalf of the ILO in the future.

The first training of trainers was conducted inNovember 2008 in Jakarta. The two-week training exposed

participants to a wide range of management tools andstrategies for improving the effectiveness and efficiency ofmicrofinance operations. Participants came from theAssociation of People’s Credit Banks (BPRs), the Associationof BPR Syariah, Credit unions, the Association of BMT,private firms, such as MICRA and BISMA. It is expected thatby the end of the pilot programme, Indonesia will haveaccredited trainers who are capable of delivering highquality training to young managers of microfinanceinstitutions.

“I have gained a new perspective of trainingtechniques. The training module has designed in acomprehensive way with case studies and experiences from

industry

We should use this challenge as anopportunity to improve the skills ofyoung middle managers to be able tomeet the demand for financial servicesof people who want to start or havetheir own small business.

different countries. This training is about improving theindividual and team ability as well as human resourceawareness which in turn will improve the performance ofMFI,” said Mr. Stevanus Koten from Credit Union Mambuinfrom Manokwari, Papua.

As part of its Decent Work Country Programme forIndonesia, the ILO supports employment creation throughenterprise development. Access to financial services is oneof the means to facilitate the start up and expansion ofsmall enterprises, including for young Indonesians.

“We should use this challenge as an opportunity toimprove the skills of young middle managers to be able tomeet the demand for financial services of people who wantto start or have their own small business”, said Peter vanRooij, Deputy Director of the ILO in Indonesia. The ILOsupports this skills upgrading as part of its commitment toassist Indonesia’s Youth Employment Network (IYEN).

Daily transactions in one of the microfinance institutions.

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EmployMENT

THE Manpower Act No. 13 of 2003 mandated everyenterprise to apply an occupational safety and healthmanagement system to protect the safety of the workersand to realize optimal productivity. The cooperation ofworkers within the enterprise is vital for the prevention ofoccupational accidents and diseases. Workers’ duties inhazard control have as their counterpart the recognition ofcertain basic rights, and these should also be reflected inthe enterprises’ policies.

The protection of workers against work-relatedsickness, disease and injury forms part of the historicalmandate of the ILO. The ILO’s primary goal is to promote

“As a participatory programme, these series of trainingsstarted with a field visit to selected companies as a casestudy, where the participants review the OSH conditionsand identify spots that need improvement. Upon return toclass, they further discussed improvements that can berecommended. These recommendations will be thenpresented to the companies at the end of the training,”explained Lusiani Julia, the ILO’s Programme Officer.

The last training was organized in Tretes Pasuruan, EastJava, from 21 – 24 November 2008. As a case study, theparticipants visited and examined PT. Spindo in Surabaya.To date, these series of trainings have already trained a total

of 65 master trainers. “In thelast training, we also invitedtwo unionists from Timor-Leste to join,” Lusiani added.

POSITIVE stands for“Participation-OrientedSafety Improvement byTrade-union initiaVE. Thisprogramme has beendeveloped to promoteaction-oriented training inOSH by trade unioninitiatives and how theunions can contribute toimproved work conditions,especially at the plant level.Attention is also given tolow-cost improvement.

There are fourobjectives of thisprogramme: (1) improvingworkplace conditions andreducing industrial

accidents; (2) improving labour-management relations; (3)changing workers’ attitudes; and (4) strengthening of unionorganization.

ENHANCING Union Capacityin Occupational Safety and Health

A worker fully equipped with safety gears.

opportunities for women and men to obtain decent andproductive work in conditions of freedom, equity, securityand human dignity. The ILO consideres this as decent work.Decent work is safe work, and it is a positive factor forproductivity and economic growth.

To assist the workers in Indonesia in applyingOccupational Safety and Health (OSH), the ILO incollaboration with the Japan International LabourFoundation (JILAF) and KSPI implemented a series of jointOSH training programmes targeted to the other twoconfederations, KSPSI and KSBSI. Started in 2007, thetraining has been conducted twice a year based on theexisting JILAF-KSPI POSITIVE Programme in Indonesia.

As a participatory programme,these series of trainings startedwith a field visit to selectedcompanies as a case study, wherethe participants review the OSHconditions and identify spots thatneed improvement. Upon return toclass, they further discussedimprovements that can berecommended.

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Social DIALOGUE

TODAY’S Indonesia is facing the impact of theglobal financial crisis, especially at the enterprise level, suchas the pressure on business to reduce working hours,retrenchment, wages, working conditions, etc. To reducethe financial crisis’s impacton labour and enterprise,the most appropriate wayis to strengthen thebipartite dialogue andcooperation to find thebest solution.

Workplace bipartitecooperation can beachieved through theemployee-managementcooperation (EMC)approach, which has cometo be a popular acronym inthe world of work. Inprinciple, the EMC is ajoint mechanism for bothworkers and managementto work out a joint solutionto commonly sharedproblems. It is useful todistinguish betweendistributive issues, whichare generally the subjectof collective bargainingnegotiations, and thoseissues of mutual concerns,which are generally withinthe ambit of the EMC.

The EMC focuses onproduction to enlarge thecompany’s “pie”;meanwhile, collective bargaining focuses on thedistribution of the “pie” between parties concerned. Withthe establishment of EMC, the workers and themanagement can discuss urgent matters that threaten todisrupt the relationship, or lower the competitiveness of thecompany whenever necessary.

In an effort to gain further credibility as a professionaland representative organization of value to its members,the Indonesian Employers’ Association (Apindo) is seekingto continuously promote enterprise level cooperation andto develop related industrial relations services. On theother hand, the ILO’s country programme and planningframework—Decent Work Country Programme—envisagesstrengthening the capacity of employers’ and workers’

organizations to enable consensus and implementation ofbalanced policies to achieve labour market flexibility andjob security.

In a commitment to support the capacity building ofApindo in this area, the ILO,supported by theNetherlands/ILO CooperationProgramme, assisted Apindoto benchmark good industrialrelations practices and todevelop training tools andresources on EMC from 16 –19 December 2008 in Jakarta.Ten companies were selectedto share their experiences onestablishing andimplementing the EMC.

The companies admittedthat they gained numerousbenefits from the EMC. It hasimproved working conditions,provided equal opportunityand pay for women and menworkers, built mutual trust,opened bettercommunications betweenworkers and management,and prevented dispute. Somechallenges that they facedwere to properly schedule themeeting to allow more peopleto attend and the hesitationfrom the union at thebeginning of the EMCestablishment. These lessonslearned will be published to

raise awareness on the value of labor managementcooperation and sound workplace relations.

The training of trainers on EMC will also be organizedwith an immediate objective to have at least 30 mastertrainers on sound workplace relations and labormanagement cooperation, among the staff and affiliates ofApindo. Djimanto, Chairman of Apindo, emphasized that“the EMC aims to foster cooperation and trust betweenmanagement and workers to enlarge the company’s pie.Management and workers may have different interest andneeds, yet they have common vision and mission that thecompany is a place to grow and maintain competitivenessfor their welfares.”

ENLARGING the Company’the Company’the Company’the Company’the Company’s Pies Pies Pies Pies Piethrough Employee-Management Cooperationthrough Employee-Management Cooperationthrough Employee-Management Cooperationthrough Employee-Management Cooperationthrough Employee-Management Cooperation

Working relations between the management and workers in the manufacturing company.

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Social DIALOGUE

BY the 9th of September 2008, inIndonesia, there were 139 people who wereinfected by avian flu virus (H5N1), of whom 113died (fatality rate 81%). This makes Indonesiathe highest in the world in terms of numbers ofhuman cases. As the same with generalpopulation, workers, employers and theworkplaces have the same risk of gettinginfected. In fact, the workplace can be used asan important point in promoting the raisingawareness activities to prevent the spread ofthe avian influenza virus, because it is wherepeople gather together and they can furthercontinue to share the information with theirfamilies.

Under its Avian Flu and the WorkplaceProject in Indonesia, the ILO has focused ontraining programmes on preventing the spreadof avian flu for workers and on assisting small mediumenterprises (SMEs) to protect their workers and businessfrom influenza pandemic. Using a participatory action-oriented training programme, it is expected that duringthe training, participants will be able to develop theworkable and low-cost actions that can be implemented intheir workplaces or their neighbourhoods.

A series of training of trainers were conducted inDecember 2008. The first training was organized from 3 –4 December 2008 in Puncak, West Java. The training wastargeted to workers, attended by 32 participants from the

yourself, your family and your business

three major labour union confederations (KSBSI, KSPSI andKSPI) from 6 provinces: DKI Jakarta, West Java, CentralJava, East Java, Banten and Bali. The training also includedrepresentatives from APPSI (Domestic Workers Training andPlacement Association).

“The training is aimed to strengthen the capacities ofunions and to encourage workers to be more active in theoccupational safety and health committee in theircompanies. Thus, as a follow up, the participants are

required to deliver a similar training intheir respective areas andneighbourhoods,” said M. Bey Sonata,the Project Manager of the ILO’s AvianFlu Project.

The second training was conductedin collaboration with the IndonesianEmployers’ Association (Apindo) from 11– 12 December 2008 in Cikarang, WestJava. This training was attended by 23participants from Apindo West Java, EastJava, Central Java, Banten, Bali as well asSMEs from Bekasi, Karawang andCikarang. It aimed to raise awareness onthe threat of the influenza pandemic andits impact to the business, and theimportance of having the preparednessplan. In addition, practical, workable andlow-cost intervention tools in developingpreparedness plan for influenzapandemic were shared.

One of the ILO’s trainings to prevent the spread of avian influenza virus, in particular inworkplaces.

Protectfrom AVIAN INFLUENZA

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Social PROTECTION

EARLY in 2008, local economic development(LED) forums in the districts of Malang and Pasuruan in EastJava agreed to expand their economic potential in atransparent andeffectivecommunicationprocess, involvingmembers of theprivate sector, thegovernment and civilsocieties. Theyselected tourism andagribusiness as theireconomic focus.

The forums wereestablished with thesupport of the ILOthrough its project onJob Opportunities forYouth (JOY). One ofthe aims of the projectis to support sub-national policy-makers to develop youth employmentpolicies and local economic development approaches as aneffort to create decent employment for young men andwomen.

Since then, much was done to support these forumsand the growth of their region. Agro tourism washighlighted as one activity to push through and a consensuswas reached with Sparkling Surabaya, the provincial tourismboard. The board agreed to develop tour packagesdesigned for business travelers arriving in Surabaya. Thesepackages are intended for business visitors to extend theirtrips by a few days and discover an untapped and splendidregion, surrounded by Indonesian landmarks such as theBromo volcano.

As a result, communities involved foresee their role ashosts of a new tourism market which will present theopportunity for small and medium business creation such asrestaurants, souvenir shops, and guiding companies. Toprepare for this adventure and for the first “test” tour

coming in December from Brunei, members of the LEDforums of both districts participated in an agro-tourismstudy visit which took them to Yogyakarta and Malaysia inpartnership with SparklingSurabaya and with Gadjah MadaUniversity.

Lectures were provided in Yogyakarta, and participantshad the opportunity to visit well-managed tourism villages.Yet, the most fascinating part of the trip took place inMalaysia where they had the chance not only to see firsthand how agro tourism could best be adapted in theirregion, but also to establish strategic links with governmentand tourism authorities.

TTTTTourism development inourism development inourism development inourism development inourism development in East Java:East Java:East Java:East Java:East Java:Yogyakarta and Malaysia

Participants met with the vice mayor of Ampang Jayaand learned how his government offers support to localcommunities such as in public services, in maintaining agreen zone or in sustaining an efficient night market. Localgovernment participants from the local planning agenciesof Malang and Pasuruan took good notes of these remarksand so did the farmers and growers.

The group also visited an agro farm in the NegeriSembilan State, as well as MARDI (Malaysia AgriculturalResearch Development Institute) and paid a visit to theCameron highlands, a highly successful tourism spot inMalaysia.

Participants returned to Indonesia with theirexpectations met as they realized that they all had “what ittook” to attract tourism in their districts just as it is done inMalaysia. Meanwhile Sparkling Surabaya reiterated theirsupport in what many hope will be a new era for tourismdevelopment for the province of East Java.

Participants when visiting a small agro farm in the Negeri Sembilan State, Malaysia.

As a result, communities involvedforesee their role as hosts of a newtourism market which will present theopportunity for small and mediumbusiness...

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©ILO-JOY Project/ILO Jakarta

From the REGION

FOUR years after the 2004 tsunami, the Provinceof Nanggroe Aceh Darusalam (NAD) has continuouslystimulated development initiatives and economicempowerment at the community level. Since 2008, thegovernment of NAD has synchronized its KecamatanDevelopment Programme (KDP) with the nationalgovernment’s National Program for CommunityEmpowerment (PNPM).

Under its Aceh programme, the ILO isnow working in three pilot districts of Aceh(Aceh Besar, Pidie and Central Aceh) toassist in building the capacities of PNPM orKDP facilitators and their platinum clients,the village women groups. “The main ideaof this ILO project is to bring all relevantdevelopment actors together to maximizethe outreach of development initiatives inAceh and to avoid overlapping amongstvarious development programmes initiatedby different institutions, including thegovernment,” said Riska Efriyanti, the ILO’slocal project officer in Aceh.

The ILO’s programme in Aceh hasspecifically focused on gender andentrepreneurship. Together with theUniversity of Syiah Kuala and the AcehProvincial Fishery Office, the ILO hasfacilitated production skills training inCentral Aceh and Pidie. These productionskills trainings were aimed to boost entrepreneurship

tototototoREBUILDING ACEH:

a Fruitful Pa Fruitful Pa Fruitful Pa Fruitful Pa Fruitful Partnershipartnershipartnershipartnershipartnership

what they say…

capacities, using the ILO’s Gender and EntrepreneurshipTogether (GET Ahead) approach. Various hands-on trainingactivities have been provided, mostly related to improvingthe sustainability of existing livelihoods related toagriculture, fishing, horticulture, and entrepreneurship. Todate, this series of trainings has reached a total of 78women.

The women group proudly presented their syrup products.

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“At first, I was doubtful about thistraining as I experienced numerousempty promises. Yet, I and the othersare now very grateful. We heavilydepend on our local resources andtraditional production skills that wecould not compete with market-demanded products. Thanks to thehands-on training that we received,we now know how to better processour fish and turn them into variousproducts with better quality andpackaging. We are now looking formore market opportunities” (Khairani,35 years old, Panteraja Sub-district,Pidie)

“We used to sell our agriculturalcrops as they were. When the priceswere very low, we just threw themaway. No value at all. But now, weknow how to turn our crops into morevaluable and durable products, such asfruit jams, nata de pina, sauces andsyrups. We learned from the GetAhead training, with various productoptions in hand, we can expand ourmarket.” (Nurmaini, 29 years old,Pegasing Sub-district, Central Aceh)

“We did realize manydevelopment programmes initiated bythe government overlapped withinitiatives from other institutions.However, caught up with our dailywork routines, we have never reallyput in an effort to coordinate withother institutions and link ourprogrammes. However, through thiscollaboration, we have learnt thepower of partnership to maximize thebenefits gained for localcommunities.” (Kanisullah, Head oftraining and Community DevelopmentUnit, NAD Provincial Fishery Office)

Journey

©ILO Aceh-Nias Programme/ILO Jakarta

From the REGION

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“We have heard about the PNPMprogramme, but we finally learned whatit was when the ILO linked us up withthe programme. We then found out thatthe PNPM is closely related to ourprogrammes on communityresponsibility. As an educationalinstitution, we are also responsible fordoing some real development initiativeson the ground, directly working withwomen in the villages. We are keen toexplore other opportunities with PNPMand ILO in the future.” (Asmawati,Lecturer and Trainer of the AgriculturalProduct Technology, University of SyiahKuala). ]

THE road sector wasone of the worst affectedsectors during the tsunami ofDecember 2004 in Aceh andearthquake of March 2005 inNias. With long experiencein using local workers in suchsituations, the ILO hascarried out the second phaseof the project on localresource-basedinfrastructure rehabilitationstarting October 2008 for ayear. The first phase, startingMarch 2006, was ended inSeptember 2008.

Funded by the MultiDonor Fund, the Projectprovides jobs through labour-based methods of road repairwhile strengthening thecapacity of local contractorsand governments. TheProject also aims atstrengthening community participation in rural roaddevelopment and maintenance as well as refiningtechniques, standards, systems and strategies for localresource-based road works. Immediate and long-termbenefits of the Project include job creation, instruction in

sound techniques, demonstration of transparent biddingprocedures, and cost-effectiveness.

Under the first phase, by September 2008, a total of97,2 kilometers of rural roads were fully rehabilitated.About more than 215,000 worker-days of employmentwere created. The project has also improved the capacityof the Ministry of Public Work staff and contractors inAceh Besar, Pidie, Bireuen, Nias and Nias Selatan inapplying local resource-based road works.

Meanwhile, in Nias and Nias Selatan, the Project hasbeen able to open access for housing projects byrehabilitating bridges. In Pidie and Bireuen, the localgovernment has committed to pledge a total of 20kilometers of roads using the emulsion-based pavementroad with technical assistance from the ILO Road Project.

Under the second phase, it is targeted to rehabilitate169 kilometers and maintain 161 kilometers of rural roadusing a more environmentally friendly pavement methodcalled emulsion-based pavement road. The Project willclosely collaborate with the government’s KecamatanDevelopment Programme (KDP) and National Program forCommunity Empowerment (PNPM) in conducting thecommunity-based maintenance system for rural roads inAceh Province and in rehabilitating bridges in Nias.

ILO to continuerehabilitating roads in Aceh and Niasin Aceh and Niasin Aceh and Niasin Aceh and Niasin Aceh and Nias

Rehabilitation of suspension bridge in Nias.

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From the REGION

THE current global financial crisis is impacting manydeveloping countries, including Indonesia. The IMFprojects that economic growth in developing countries willslow to 6.6 per cent in 2008 and 5.1 per cent in 2009,compared to growth of 8.0 per cent in 2007. According tothe IMF, “amid a deepening financial crisis, Asia isconfronting the likelihood of sharply slowing growth andincreased vulnerabilities.”1

Indonesia is expected to avoid the recession andturmoil that engulfed the country a decade ago during theAsian financial crisis and is expected to fare better thanother Asian economies, due in part to the “closeness” ofthe economy (exports represent around 30 per cent of theGDP – a low figure compared to many East and South-EastAsian economies), which tends to shelter the country from avolatile global environment.

Nonetheless, Indonesia will not escape the globalfinancial crisis and its impact is already being felt. Afterposting an economic growth rate of 6.3 per cent in 2007,the highest rate since the Asian financial crisis of 1997, andgrowth rates of 6.3 per cent and 6.4 per cent in the first andsecond quarters of 2008, Indonesia’s economic growtheased to 6.1 per cent in the third quarter of 2008 and isexpected to have eased further to 5.5 per cent in the fourthquarter of 2008.

Prospects for economic growth in 2009 are evendimmer, with growth projections ranging from 3.7 per centto 5.0 per cent. The Government expects 2 million existingjobs to be lost in 2009 as a consequence of slowingexternal demand, and is seeking to create 2.6 million newjobs, 600,000 of which through overseas placement. Thelatest labour force survey conducted in August 2008indicates that Indonesia had a labour force of 112 million, ofwhich 9.4 million were unemployed. Another 14.9 millionpersons were involuntarily underemployed on a time-related basis.

In general, the export and commodities sectors(commodities account for about 60 per cent of Indonesia’sexports) will be most affected due to weakening foreigndemand and falling commodity prices, and many layoffshave already been announced in these sectors. TheMinistry of Manpower has recorded that between earlyNovember 2008 and January 5, 2009, 24,452 workers hadbeen permanently dismissed while another 11,703 hadbeen temporarily dismissed. Another 26,000 workers werein danger of being dismissed soon.

To minimize the economic and social impact of theglobal financial crisis, the Government of Indonesia hasrecently announced several measures, including:

The Global Financial Crisisand INDONESIA

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ON JANUARY 7, 2009ON JANUARY 7, 2009ON JANUARY 7, 2009ON JANUARY 7, 2009ON JANUARY 7, 2009, Bank Indonesialowered its benchmark interest rate from 9.25 percent to 8.75 per cent, lowering the cost ofborrowing for firms as inflation in December 2008,at 11.1 per cent compared to a year earlier, easedto six month lows and the central bank becameincreasingly concerned about future growthprospects.2

ON JANUARY 5, 2009ON JANUARY 5, 2009ON JANUARY 5, 2009ON JANUARY 5, 2009ON JANUARY 5, 2009, the Governmentof Indonesia announced an economic stimuluspackage of IDR 50.5 trillion (US$ 4.6 billion) to helpthe country cope with the global financial crisis.Three-fourths of the amount (IDR 38 trillion) will befinanced from unspent amounts leftover from theGovernment’s 2008 budget while the rest will befinanced from the 2009 state budget.3 The packageconsists of tax relief, direct funding for sectors worsthit by the crisis, infrastructure projects and safety netprogrammes. In the first phase of the package(amounting to IDR 12.5 trillion), a value-added taxexemption will be provided to 17 sectors, includingsteel, textiles, palm oil and footwear and exemptionfrom import duties for raw materials andcomponents will be provided to 14 sectors includingmanufacturing.The stimulus is available to only certain industriesthat meet certain criteria, including those directlyaffected by the global economic slowdown, with aminimum of 500 employees and that sell theirproducts in local and overseas markets. Businesseswould also need to have made significantcontributions to national exports and paid thecorrect taxes.4 Specific details on the remainingthree-fourths of the package are not expected to bereleased until mid January 2009 but are gearedtowards job creation and supporting the privatesector.The economic stimulus is aimed at supporting theeconomy to grow at 5 per cent in 2009 and keepingthe unemployment rate flat at 8.4 per cent, whichthe Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairsestimates may increase to 8.9 per cent without thestimulus.

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ON DECEMBER 24, 2008ON DECEMBER 24, 2008ON DECEMBER 24, 2008ON DECEMBER 24, 2008ON DECEMBER 24, 2008, theGovernment announced that up to IDR 100 trillion(US$ 9.2 billion) had been set aside to financeinfrastructure projects in 2009.5 The financing willcome from the 2009 state budget and additionalexternal funding. A quarter of that amount wouldbe channeled to local administrations, which mayalso increase their own allocations into theinfrastructure projects, while the rest will beimplemented by the central government.6

ON DECEMBER 15, 2008ON DECEMBER 15, 2008ON DECEMBER 15, 2008ON DECEMBER 15, 2008ON DECEMBER 15, 2008, theGovernment announced that in 2009 it will increaseits poverty alleviation fund to IDR 78 trillion (US$7.1billion) from an allocation of IDR 50 billion in 2008 inan effort to reduce the poverty rate, which wasexpected to rise as a result of the global financialcrisis.7 The poverty alleviation fund finances variousprogrammes such as the direct cash transferprogramme (BLT), the rice for poor people andschool operational aids programme (BOS) as well asempowerment programmes such as the nationalcommunity empowerment programme (PNPM) andthe hope family programme (PKH). The Governmentis also seeking to increase its allocation for thesmallholder credit programme (KUR) aimed at microand small enterprises.

In an effort to alleviate exports from the globalcredit crunch and strengthen export financing, theHouse of Representatives in December 2008endorsed a bill establishing a new export financingagency (LPEI), which will replace the currentIndonesia Export Bank (BEI). The new institution isexpected to start operating by June of 2009.Whereas BEI provided loans based on collateral,

EmployMENT

LPEI will be able to provide loans based on exporttransactions and provide insurance and creditguarantees to exporting firms. As LPEI is designedto assume credit and insurance risks othercommercial banks and lenders are not able orunwilling to accept, it is expected to benefit inparticular small and medium- sized enterprises(SMEs). It will operate with an initial capital of IDR 4trillion.

The Indonesian Ministry of Manpower andTransmigration is continuing to monitor the numberof dismissed workers. Registered companiesemploying workers are required to report plans tothe Ministry that may result in layoffs. The Ministryhas also indicated that it will intensify its voluntarytransmigration programmes to workers laid off as aresult of the crisis to relocate to areas less impactedby the crisis. The Ministry is also runningprogrammes for job training, including for labour-intensive sectors, labour networking, and a housingdevelopment programme. Through the latter, theGovernment is aiming to build between 50,000 and100,000 homes, employing at least 500,000workers.8 Furthermore, in coordination with otherMinistries and the National Social Security Company(Jamsostek), it was planning to use corporate socialresponsibility funds to set up a program to helplaid-off workers with working capital loans carryingan interest of only three percent a year.

IN OCTOBER 2008IN OCTOBER 2008IN OCTOBER 2008IN OCTOBER 2008IN OCTOBER 2008, the Ministers ofManpower and Transmigration, Trade, Industry andHome Affairs issues a Joint Ministerial decree aimedat limiting increases in regional minimum regionalwages to help ensure the sustainability of

Skyscrapers in Jakarta, Indonesia.

(Footnotes)(Footnotes)(Footnotes)(Footnotes)(Footnotes)1 IMF: Regional Economic Outlook: Asia and Pacific (Washington, D.C., November

2008).2 Bloomberg: “Indonesia Cuts Interest Rate by Surprise Half Point”, January 7, 2009.3 Jakarta Post: “Stimulus to spur economy to 5%”, January 6, 2009 .4 Jakarta Globe: “Business leaders cast doubt over stimulus package impact”,

January 7, 2009.5 Forbes: “Indonesia plans $9.2 bln infrastructure bill in 2009”, December 24, 2008.6 Jakarta Post: “Infrastructure projects key to safeguarding economy”, January 5,

2009.7 Jakarta Post: “Govt prepares Rp 72t poverty fund”, December 15, 2008.8 Jakarta Post: “Govt expects to create 2.6 million new jobs”, January 6, 2008.9 Jakarta Post: “Labor unions warn of mass layoffs”, January 3, 2009.1 0 Jakarta Post: “250,000 migrant workers sent home”, December 18, 2008.

I D E N T I F Y I N GI D E N T I F Y I N GI D E N T I F Y I N GI D E N T I F Y I N GI D E N T I F Y I N G

companies despite a slowdown in the globaleconomy. The decree was made in the context ofconcerns that the annual deliberations would resultin regional minimum wages being raised beyond thecapabilities of manufacturing firms to cope with theglobal economic slowdown and in an effort toprovide a safety net against layoffs.The initial decree contained a clause capping theincreases in regional wages not to exceed thenational economic growth rate but after a series ofprotests by unions, the clause was modified so thatincreases took into account the inflation rate in therespective regions. The decree also stipulates otherefforts designed to empower the local economyagainst fallout from the global crisis. These includeactions by the Ministry of Manpower to strengthentripartite cooperation under a national tripartiteforum, to promote effective communication betweenemployers and workers and to improve theefficiency of the mediation process for resolvingconflicts and avoiding lay-offs.

Labour unions have also urged the Government toestablish a crisis center as a forum for the tripartitepartners and experts to meet and discuss layoffprevention strategies and provide businesses withloans for severance payments.9

The Government is currently in the process ofpreparing a plan to assist returning overseasmigrant workers, to which the ILO is providingsupport. The plan is expected to includeentrepreneurship training, financial education,vocational training among others. The Ministry ofForeign Affairs has taken steps for Indonesianembassies to help workers facing layoffs claim rightsdue to them. In mid December 2008, the Ministerof Manpower indicated that 250,000 overseasmigrant workers, mostly semi-skilled, had returnedhome before their contracts expired as theiremployers were hit by the financial crisis. Theemployers were mostly from Malaysia, the Republicof Korea, Hong Kong (China) and Middle Easterncountries.10

THE ILO is conducting an assessment of theimpacts of the global financial crisis and participating indifferent forums discussing the impact of the globalfinancial crisis on Indonesia and identifying appropriatepolicy measures. On 2 December 2008, the Coordinating

Ministry for Economic Affairs organized a “High-levelRoundtable Discussion on Employment Issues and MacroPolicy Coherence in Indonesia” in preparation of policyoptions of the impact of the global financial crisis onIndonesian manpower. Duncan Campbell, Director of theEconomic and Labour Markets Analysis Department inILO Geneva and Kee Beom Kim, Economist for the ILOJakarta Office, provided presentations at the Ministry’srequest during the Roundtable.

On 16 December 2008, the ILO also hosted aroundtable discussion on the impacts of the globalfinancial crisis on the world of work following the regionallaunch of the World of Work Report 2008: IncomeInequalities in the Age of Financial Globalization report,published by the ILO’s International Institute for LabourStudies. The Meeting highlighted the need to closelymonitor the manpower situation, particularly its impacton the informal economy and the working poor,strengthen labour market information collection andanalysis for such monitoring, and the need to strengthentripartite dialogue in identifying appropriate policyoptions in dealing with the impact of the financial crisisand creating a favourable industrial relations climate.

policy measures

From left to right: Ekkehard Ernst (Lead Economist of the International Institute for LabourStudies), Guntur Witjaksono (Head of International Cooperation and Administration,Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration) and Alan Boulton, Country Director of the ILOin Indonesia.

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The Third Regional MeetingThe Third Regional MeetingThe Third Regional MeetingThe Third Regional MeetingThe Third Regional Meeting for Asia and the PacificTHE Third Regional Committee Meeting

for Asia and the Pacific was held in New Delhifrom 1 to 5 September 2008. Twenty-onerepresentatives (10 men and 11 women) from14 offices in the region and Geneva attended.The meeting was a combined of meetings withtrainings for all the staff representatives in theregion. The trainings covered issues onrecruitment and selection procedures,negotiation skills, conflict resolution and staffsecurity. The meeting was concluded with thefollowing conclusions and recommendationsrelated to career development, work conditionsand entitlements.

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In BRIEF

The ILO in collaboration with the Indonesian Employers’Organization (Apindo) developed six episodes of TVtalkshows on youth employment entitled “Indonesian YouthChallenge.” The 30-minute talkshow was broadcast by TVOne, one of the leading private TV stations, every Sundaymorning from 10.00 – 10.30 from 14 September – 19October 2008.

The talkshows raised various issues related to youthemployment, ranging from youth unemployment, youthtraining programmes to youth entrepreneurshipprogrammes, public-private partnership. The talkshow washosted by Sofie Navita, an actress.

The ILO in collaboration with QTV broadcasted threeepisodes of a 30-minute joint talkshow, raising issuesrelated to industrial relations and migrant workers inIndonesia from November to December 2008. QTV istargeted towards Indonesian executives in the form ofexecutive lifestyle, entertainment, business, education, andinformation programs. It is broadcast via subscriber-basedcable TV and satellite pay-TV services in Indonesia.

“The first talkshow talked about industrial relations inIndonesia, the second one regarding the employee-management cooperation, and the third regarding theplight of migrant workers. The talkshow presented the ILO’stripartite constituents from the government, employers andworkers. It was part of the ILO’s efforts to raise awareness ofissues related to industrial relations, in particular at the

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Indonesian Youth Challenge

Dialog Development Talkshow

TVTVTVTVTVILO onILO onILO onILO onILO on

enterprise level, and to migrant workers,” explained GitaLingga, the ILO’s Communications Officer.

RI system ‘conducive’

Ten years ago this month, Indonesia ratified the ILO Convention No. 87/1948 on freedom of association and workers’ rights to organize underLaw No. 21/2000 which has given birth to three major unionconfederations, 87 federations and more than 3,000 company-levelunion groupings nationwide. ILO executive director of labor standards

Kari Tapiola, who witnessed the convention’s ratification, shared on September 2008with TheJakarta Post’s Ridwan Max Sijabat his observations and comments on the Indonesian labor unionmovement in the past decade.

to LABOR MOVEMENT

How has ILO responded to the reports on freedom ofassociation violations in Indonesia? Has it issued anyrecommendation to the Indonesian government or has itscommittee of experts looked into the issue?

Since the 1950s, 14 complaints have been madealtogether to the ILO’s Committee on Freedom ofAssociation. This number includes serious cases before1998. The ILO’s Committee of Experts has also madecomments. Recommendations have been made in all of thecases. Five cases are currently outstanding and furtherinformation is expected by the Freedom of AssociationCommittee. The government has either already sent thisinformation or promised to do so. The recent issues haveconcerned the involvement of the military in workplacematters, dismissals of trade union members and chargingtrade unionists for “unpleasant acts”. This concept isambiguous and should be clarified. The ILO has also calledfor some amendments (sections 160 and 335) of thecriminal code.

How does ILO facilitate national awareness of thefundamentals of the ILO convention, especially amongemployers and investors in the country?

This would be naturally done through cooperation withthe Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo), which forthe ILO represents the Indonesian employers. Apindo hasbeen very active in cooperation with the ILO. We can helpto develop materials and give expertise.

What is your comment on the fact that only 3.3 millionout of 35 million workers in the Indonesian formal sectorhave unionized and only a small minority of more than200,000 companies have signed collective laboragreements with their workers, while only 7.9 millionworkers have taken part in social security programs?

If about 10 percent of workers in the formal sector areorganized, actually that already gives a basis for the unionsto make their views heard on labor matters. In many ways,the coverage of collective bargaining agreements is a more

Question:Question:Question:Question:Question: How do you observe the development ofthe labor union movement in the past 10 years? Do youfind the political system and conditions conducive to ademocratic labor movement?

Answer:Answer:Answer:Answer:Answer: The political system is conducive to ademocratic labor movement, but workers and unions haveto decide what kind of movement they want to have. Sincethe ratification of the ILO Convention No. 87, that has beenpossible. The first reaction, which was not surprising, wasfragmentation, the creation of new organizations and splitsin the old. At present, some further consolidation would behelpful, as voluntary unity gives more strength to theworkers.

What is your comment on the increasing number oflabor unions? Are they effective in improving the positionof workers in collective bargaining with employers?

A system with two to four major national trade unionscan function well if organizations can cooperate sufficientlyamong them. But if there are many small organizations, it isdifficult to determine what the workers’ collective positionis. And it is difficult to negotiate efficiently with theemployers, who also need representative counterparts. Thefragmentation of trade unions is not in the interests of theemployers either.

What is your comment on the ignorance of certainemployers on the ILO convention, the interference of thesecurity authorities in labor disputes and internal riftsamong labor unions?

Some of these reactions show that industrial relationsin Indonesia are still in transition. Employers should notinvolve the police; forces or law and order should keep outof labor relations and conflicts and workers shouldconcentrate on negotiations. Strikes in general should onlybe resorted to when negotiations fail — and even strikesshould be settled by negotiation, not by force.

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Inter VIEW

revealing figure and if that is low, it is necessary to look atthe whole wage-fixing system. The extension of socialsecurity provisions depends above all on the nationalauthorities.

What is needed to raise the awareness of employersand workers on international labor standards such asfreedom of association, collective bargaining, equaltreatment, phasing out of child labor and labor protection?

Through information, seminars and integration of theimplications of fundamental labor rights into differenttraining programs (for instance in police training). Rights atwork include both workers’ and employers’ rights.

What is ILO’s contribution to workers education inimproving their bargaining skills? What is the role thatemployers should play in improving workers’ competenceand productivity?

There is a big role for bipartite information and trainingactivities, for both employers and trade unionrepresentatives. The freedom of association rights areabsolute — but the method to exercise them in practice isthrough dialogue and negotiation, which means findingeconomically and humanly viable solutions. As I already

said, competent and representative trade unions are also inthe interest of the employers.

Outsourcing and contract-based systems allowed bythe labor law have been perceived as a major threat to thefreedom of association. What is your comment?

Outsourcing can indeed be a threat if it is used to avoidnegotiating with trade unions. It should not be used toweaken or bypass trade unions.

What do you think of the bipartite efforts of employersand labor unions to settle industrial disputes?

Bipartite cooperation makes tripartite cooperation andindustrial relations healthy and strong. It should be stronglyencouraged.

What should labor unions do in the future to maximizethe freedom of association and strengthen their legitimacyin representing workers?

Labor unions should organize and seek to cooperatebetter with one another. Trade union rivalries always hurtthe workers most.

January – May 2009AgeAgeAgeAgeAgenda

• Training of Trainers on Preventing the Spread ofAvian Flu for Workers (APPSI) , Puncak, West Java,27 – 28 January

• Training of Trainers on Preventing the Spread ofAvian Flu for Workers (KSBSI, KSPI, and KSPSI),Banten, 30 – 31 January and Semarang, CentralJava, 6 – 7 February

• The launch of findings of survey on collectivebargaining agreement, Jakarta, end of January

• ILO/Apindo Workshop on Assisting Small MediumEnterprises (SMEs), West Java, 12 – 13 February;Banten, 24 – 25 February; Central Java, 24 – 25March; East Java, 22 – 23 April; and Bali, 26 – 27May

• National Symposium on Trade Union and the GlobalCrisis, Jakarta, 16 February

• Training of Trainers on Start Your Business, Jakarta,16 – 26 February

• Provincial Youth Employment Strategy, East Java, 19– 20 February

• Panel Discussion on Social Security, Jakarta, 24February

• Regional Seminar ILO/ASEAN/Japan Project onIndustrial Relations, Bogor, West Java, 26 – 27February

• Making Finance Work Workshop, Jakarta, 16 – 20March

• Training of Trainers on Start Your Business, Jakarta,16 – 26 March

• Sexual Harassment Workshop, Jakarta, March

• Start Your Business Step-down Trainings, West Java,Central Java, East Java, NTB, NTT, North Sumatra,Lampung, Jambi, Banten, Riau, and Riau Islands –March to November

• The ILO 90 Years, Jakarta, April

• National Youth Conference, Jakarta, 27 – 28 April

• The Effective Employers’ Training, Bali, 30 March – 2April

• The Commemoration of the World Day for Safetyand Health at Work, 28 April

• The commemoration of May Day, 1 May

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staff visiting the Laweyan village in Solo, Central Java.

Smart Workers is a joint interactivetalkshow of the ILO in collaborationwith Smart FM, designed to raiseawareness of basic rights in theworkplace. For those who areinterested in learning more aboutemployment and labour issues, justtune in to 95,9 FM!

(from left to right): Mustofa Idrus, Asuhaidi, Peter van Rooij, John Lindsay (first row),Albert Y. Bonasahat, Hari Murdiyanto, Yansen Hutapea, Joko Purnomo, Lukman Hadi(second row)

THE FUTSAL TEAM: The ILO’s FutsalTeam was set-up last year and has been practicing everySaturday. Friendly matches have been organized with its

main counterparts from unions, the employers’organization, and other organizations. “We now have our

new uniforms and we are ready to compete. It is notnecessarily about losing or winning. It is mainly about

being together with our constituents and being healthythrough sports at the same time,” said Peter van Rooij,

the ILO’s Deputy Director who is also the manager of theFutsal team.

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Call: (021) 398 33 888

SMS: 0812 1112 959

Staff CORNERSTAFF OUTING: Every two

year, the Staff Union of ILO Jakarta organizesan outing for all of the ILO staff under the ILOJakarta. In August 2008, around 25 ILO staffvisited Yogyakarta and Solo for three days,visiting, among others, the former ILO’s projectsites in Bantul and the Laweyan Village. “Theouting is one of the ways for the ILO staff to becloser and to have fun together outside theoffice,” said Gita Lingga, the UnionRepresentative of ILO Jakarta.

ILO GOES GREEN: The ILOjoined the Go Green Programme conducted by theToyota Astra Group in Rinjani National Park, Lombok,West Nusa Tenggara, from 23 – 25 January 2009. TheILO planted a total of 60 trees that will be maintainedby the local community in Sapit Village, an old,beautiful village residing in Rinjani National Park,together with WWF and the local authorities.

Yansen Hutapea and Asuhaidi – two ILO staff representing the ILO in the programme.

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