By Jana D.K.

JAKARTA -- Worker activists and representatives of non-government organisations have met ACTU president Martin Ferguson and told him of their opposition to the ACTU's decision to provide $2 million to, and strengthen cooperation with, the government-run SPSI (All Indonesian Workers Union).

Members of the Committee Against ACTU-SPSI Cooperation met Ferguson on December 3 during a week-long visit by Ferguson, federal industrial relations minister Laurie Brereton and the director general of the Australian Chamber of Commerce, Brian Noakes.

On November 29, it was reported that Brereton had agreed to a memorandum of understanding with the Indonesian minister of labour, Abdul Latief. Officials from SPSI, the director of the American-Asian Free Labour Institute and the labour attache from the US embassy were also present.

According to those who attended the December 3 meeting, Ferguson initially refused to reply to the committee's statement on the grounds that the ACTU did not yet have a formal relationship with SPSI and the proposed funding for “worker training” programs was from the Australian government, not the ACTU. This was later contradicted by statements that the ACTU planned to continue its relationship with SPSI because this would give it an entry point to work with Indonesian NGOs.

One of the committee members, Teten Masduki, coordinator of the Workers' Solidarity Forum, told Green Left Weekly, “To date, strike action by Indonesian workers has been organised outside SPSI. The real motivation behind the restructuring of SPSI by the government last September was, in fact, to make it easier to control workers.”

Masduki said that while the committee was pleased with the opportunity, in his opinion the real purpose of Ferguson's offer to meet with the group was to deflect criticisms that he had met only with government and SPSI officials.

Masduki said they were angry that the ACTU made its decision before inviting worker activists to discuss the issue. “It was as if he did not want to know about the situation in Indonesia or really listen to what we had to say -- or hear about our campaign. This attitude was very obvious, right from the beginning. In my view he has no awareness whatsoever about the workers' movement. He is more like an employer or official of the Department of Labour than a union official.”

Several workers who had recently been sacked at the recommendation of SPSI asked Ferguson how he could consider supporting such an organisation.

“He was confused, and didn't know how to respond. He kept trying to draw the discussion away from the real issues by changing the subject or justifying his position on the grounds that the ACTU didn't know how else to proceed”, said Masduki.

Another member of the committee from the Forward Together Foundation told Green Left Weekly that behind the rhetoric of “helping Indonesian workers” the real agenda of the ACTU was to assist capital penetration into Indonesia by Australian business.

“Australian capital is increasing its investment in Indonesia. Central to this is ensuring that there are a minimum of industrial disputes -- and the best way to do this is to develop links with SPSI”, he said.

Other Indonesian activists have commented that cooperation between the ACTU and SPSI is “entirely logical”. In their view, the roles played by SPSI and the ACTU in limiting and controlling worker demands in their respective countries and their close links with government and business make them “ideal partners”.

This article was posted on the Green Left Weekly Home Page.
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