By K. Govindan MARSINAH was a leading activist in a strike in May 1993 at a watch-making factory in Surabaya. A few days later the factory owner was forced to make some concessions to the workers.
The district military command stepped in, interrogating the activists and then firing them. Marsinah was last seen alive on that day.
Her body was later found bearing signs of torture and rape. Marsinah was just 25 years old.
Marsinah's case has become a cause célèbre to the young movement for independent trade unions free from state and military control.
Recent strikes and demonstrations in Medan have been led by the unofficial Indonesian Labour Welfare Union (SBSI). It has 87 branches throughout and a membership of 250,000.
While its activists and leaders are constantly under state and military harassment, the SBSI has been tolerated for fear of foreign - especially US -trade sanctions.
When the Medan protests degenerated into an anti-Chinese riot, the government used that pretext to ban the union. Ominously, the Interior Ministry said it was up to the military to enforce the banning order. Many fear that the military , would rake similar action to the 1965 massacres to suppress labour militancy.
There is only one legal trade union, the All Indonesia Workers Union (SPSI), which is completely discredited. It is led by bureaucrats from the ruling Golkar party, retired military officers and even businessmen! Its only role is to suppress any action are the low wages paid and blatant use of the military to frighten workers into accepting the Government decreed minimum wage of Rp. 3,800 (f1).
Indonesia's deteriorating economic situation makes this an impossible amount to live on. According to the SBSI, many companies evade even this wage, and one of their key demands is a Rp. 7,000 minimum wage.
Oil is Indonesia's main revenue earner, and its market price has slumped. Meanwhile the diversification into labour-intensive manufacturing like toys, footwear, textiles and electronic goods has been hit by the global recession and rising protectionism from its Western markets.
As foreign capital owns much of this new investment and profits are drained away from Indonesia through devices like royalties, transfer pricing, and tax-breaks, Indonesia sees these industries not as revenne earners but as a means to 'soak up' unemployed workers.
An estimated 29 million people are without jobs and each year 2.4 million people join the work-force.
It is the rate of exploitation in Indonesia which canses the greatest misery. At one shoe factory the top management salary is between 150 and 220 times that of an ordinary worker. The American footwear giant, Reebok, sells a pair of its shoes POLIS for $79 in the US.
Of that value it pays an Indonesian worker just $1. In January the government said it was. annulling the decree which legitimises military interference in labour disputes. This was a concession to the Clinton administration which has threatened to withdraw loan and trade privileges well as the vital BAR, CRECHE, and FREE SPORTS facilities. £80 waged, £30 unwaged. £20/£7.50 deposit secures a place. Write to Socialist Outlook, PO Box 1109, London N4 2UU. if Indonesia doesn't improve its labour record.
However the respected Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation has identified a loophole in the new decree which allows the military security agency Bakorstanas a role in labour disputes.
The US government announced that it was postponing a decision on loan and trade issues until August 1994. But freedom of association remains a dream for most workers. So • much for 'pro-labour' Clinton.
A solidarity committee to campaign for a public inquiry into Marsinah's death has been formed by women's, students' and activist groups. There is no RACISM & doubt that the military was responsible. In many strikes the slogan 'Continue Matsinah's struggle' can be found. There must be renewed international pressure to defend the rights of workers to free and independent unions. Above all there must be no more sacrifices like Marsinah's. • Please send messages demanding SBSI's unbanning to General Yogie S. Memed, Minister of the Interior, JI. Medan Merdeka Utara No. I, Central Jakarta, Indonesia. Fax: +62-21 323 577. FIVE DAYS of study, discussion and fun. Plenary sessions will draw lessons from • ITALY: Mussolini's march from social democracy to fascism • Revolution and counter-revolution in SPAIN • Germany: the fight for the united front. • Fascism TODAY. • RACISM in Fortress Europe Plus workshops, and additional themes: • Marxism and the National Question. • Women's Liberation.
SOCIALIST OUTLOOK No.62, May 14 1994, Page 8 THERE IS a growing movement of revolt in the the urban masses and thus they should have been able to read how the masses were determined to mo-
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