Indonesia

Dita Sari, the former trade union leader and political prisoner under the Suharto regime, is chair of the ‘ new, broader National Liberation Party of Unity (Papernas). She will be its candidate for the 2009 presidential elections. Sari was interviewed by Green Left Weekly in January. Below are some extracts. Q: Now that Papernas has been launched, what is the future of the PRD? A: The whole resources, infrastructure, energy, finances and political attention of the PRD are to be devoted to Papernas. Papernas will be our political face at least until the 2009 presidential elections. Q: Will the...

Indonesia Trade union rights may be curbed in new special economic zones (SEZs) in Indonesia’s Riau Islands, according to press reports. The plans include restricting the right to organise in the SEZs and allowing firms to sack workers without having to pay compensation. Under existing labour legislation, workers have the right to freely set up one or more trade unions in their workplaces. Indonesia has plans for more SEZs. It recently signed an agreement with Singapore to transform Batam, Bintan and Karimun into SEZs, because Singapore is running out of space for manufacturing. The Indonesian...

By Pablo Velasco Pakistan Six Pakistani left parties and groups have united to form Awami Jamhoori Tehreek (AJT — the People’s Democratic Movement), which has the potential to become the fifth-largest political group in Pakistan. The AJT aims to contest the 2007 elections. The parties in the AJT are the National Workers’ Party (NWP), the Labour Party Pakistan (LPP), Awami Tehreek (AT — People’s Movement), Pakistan Mazdoor Kissan Party (PMKP), Pakistan Mazdoor Mehaz (PMM — Workers Front) and Meraj Mohammed Khan Group (MMKG). The AJT has announced a campaign against growing militarisation and...

Around 25,000 workers at electronics company PT Maspion went on strike on at the end of February demanding that the company implement a new regional minimum wage. The strike started after the workers came to the office in the morning to fill out their attendance list. Reports say they poured out of the office and thronged the roadsides, causing five kilometres of traffic congestion. Some marched to the provincial council building to press for the implementation of the decree.

Indonesia A wave of protests — including on May Day — by Indonesian workers has forced the government to put off its draft labour law. According to union leader Dita Sari, the stakes are high because the labour law “will become a normative regulation that will be binding on workers for years and years into the future”. However the overall situation for workers is not great. One danger is the government’s emphasis on copying China and Vietnam, which have lower wages than Indonesia and no independent trade unions. Sari said: “The president’s reference to Chinese and Vietnamese models of labour...

Bolivia The Bolivian elections on 18 December are being hailed as the end of 20 years of neoliberalism. Evo Morales, from the Movement to Socialism (MAS) party, who came second in the 2002 presidential election, is the leading candidate in the polls, with over 30% of the vote. The elections were called after the uprising in May-June this year, which forced out sitting president Carlos Mesa. The left in Bolivia do not believe the election or Morales will solve the problems facing Bolivian workers. Oscar Olivera, leader of the Coordinator of the Defence of Water and Life in Bolivia, the...