the Ratification DEMANDED Indonesian Migrant Workers of International Conventions

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1 BONUS! Publications Catalogue 2008 Indonesian Migrant Workers the Ratification DEMANDED WE have been encouraging the Indonesian Government to ratify the International Conventions on the Protection of Migrant Workers Rights. The Parliament will continue to push for the ratification of such International of International Conventions Bilingual Edition, February 2009 Funded by the Norwegian Government, this annual event was jointly conducted by the ILO through its Migrant Workers Project and the Indonesian Migrant Workers Trade Union (SBMI). Migrant Worker Project/ILO Jakarta Representatives of SBMI presented the ten demands before senior officials and hundreds of Indonesian migrant workers, urging to strengthen the protection of migrant workers. Conventions, exclaimed Sonny Sumarsono, Member of the Indonesian Parliament as well as the Head of the Parliamentary Working Committee on Migrant Workers, during the one-day public dialogue entitled Providing Better Protection and Justice for Indonesian Migrant Workers. The Dialogue was held in conjunction with the commemoration of the International Migrant Day 2008 on 18 December 2008 in Jakarta. Attended by around 500 Indonesian migrant workers, the Dialogue was a collaborative effort to promote basic human rights and labour protection of migrant workers. Alan Boulton, Country Director of the ILO in Indonesia, also emphasized the need for the Indonesian Government to ratify the international conventions for the protection of migrant workers rights, in particular the ILO Conventions No. 97 and 143 on the Protection of Migrant Workers and Their Families. The ratification of the international conventions will strengthen the position and bargaining

2 HeadLINES power of Indonesia when doing bilateral or multilateral negotiations with receiving countries and, in the end, it will benefit the Indonesian migrant workers in many ways, he said. Migrant Worker Project/ILO Jakarta The ratification of these international conventions, according to Lotte Kejser, the Chief Technical Adviser of the ILO s Migrant Workers Project, will also enable the Government of Indonesia to receive highquality technical feedbacks and advice in order to improve the Indonesian labour migration system, provided by the international conventions monitoring mechanisms under the ILO and the United Nation systems. Indonesia could benefit significantly from such technical feed-back and support, she said. The effectiveness of this approach has been demonstrated by the Government of Philippines, the biggest labour-sending country. The Philippine Government has ratified both the International Convention Together these ten demands urge the Government of Indonesia and other relevant institutions to strengthen the protection of Indonesian migrant workers. on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Their Families, as well as the ILO Convention no. 143 on the Protection of the Rights of Migrant Workers, as part of its strategies to obtain better protection and conditions for its migrant workers. The ratification of the international conventions was also part of the ten demands presented to senior Indonesian Government officials by SBMI on behalf of all Indonesian migrant workers during the event. The declaration was concluded by the signing of a large banner entailing these ten demands by official government officials, ILO, employment agencies, migrant workers organizations, mass media, and migrant workers themselves. Together these ten demands urge the Government of Indonesia and other relevant institutions to strengthen the protection of Indonesian migrant workers. As the second largest contributor to Indonesia s foreign exchange, they From left to right: Jumhur Hidayat (Head of BNP2TKI), Franky Sahilatua (Goodwill Ambassador of the Indonesian Migrant Workers), Alan Boulton (Country Director of the ILO in Indonesia), and Abdul Malik Harahap (Director of Placement of Overseas Workers, Ministry of Manpower), showed their commitments by signing a large banner entailing the ten demands. deserve better treatment and respect. Thus, the demands call for a stronger commitment from all relevant parties to ensure that the long legacy of exploitation and abuse faced by Indonesian migrant workers will be finally become a thing of the past, stated Franky Sahilatua, a prominent singer who is also the goodwill ambassador of the Indonesian migrant workers. Responding to the demands, Abdul Malik Harahap, Director of Placement of Overseas Workers who was representing the Minister of Manpower and Transmigration, stated that the Indonesian Government is committed to provide better protection and services to Indonesian Migrant Workers. Similarly, Jumhur Hidayat, Head of the National Board for Placement and Protection of Indonesian 10 Demands of the Indonesian Migrant Workers 1. RATIFY the UN International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Their Families, and the ILO Conventions No. 97 and 143 concerning the Protection of the Rights of Migrant Workers. 2. AMEND Law No. 39 Year 2004 concerning Overseas Placement and Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers. 3. ENFORCE President Instruction No. 6 Year

3 The ILO s Migrant Workers Project EXTENDED for 3 years ( ) ON 27 November 2008, the Norwegian Ambassador Eivind Homme and the ILO Country Director Alan Boulton signed a three-year funding agreement for in the amount of NOK 16.2 million for the continuation of the ILO Project on Combating Forced Labour and Trafficking of Indonesian Migrant Workers in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong. The project, managed by Chief Technical Advisor Lotte Kejser, builds on the results Jarle Kottmann/ILO Jakarta From left to right: Steen Bjørn Hanssen (Nowergian Embassay), Peter van Rooij (Deputy Director of ILO in Indonesia), Mette Kottmann (Nowergian Embassy), Eivind Homme (Nowergian Ambassador), Alan Boulton (Country Director of ILO in Indonesia) and Lotte Kejser (CTA of ILO s Migrant Workers Project) Flash NEWS achieved from the first phase of the project from The project aims to eradicate forced labour and trafficking of migrant workers in South East Asia, with a particular focus on migrant domestic workers, who are particularly vulnerable to abuse and exploitation both in Indonesia as well as in destination countries. Given such pervasive human rights and labour rights violations against migrant domestic workers in Indonesia and in destination countries, the project s main strategic components are technical assistance for policy development and capacity-building, support for advocacy and awareness raising, direct assistance and service provision and targeted research and documentation. These activities are planned and implemented in cooperation with a broad range of stakeholders in Indonesia and the main destination countries, such as national and local government department and agencies, human rights commissions, trade unions, migrant workers organizations, NGOs and recruitment agencies. The Norwegian Government s funding of NOK 16.2 million for will enable ILO and Indonesian stakeholders to continue this important work, for the benefit of Indonesian migrant domestic workers and their families who depend on them, as well as for the benefit of Indonesia and its destination countries, said Lotte Kejser, commenting on the extension. 4. REVISE the Ministerial Decree No. 20 Year 2007 concerning Indonesian Migrant Workers Insurance. 5. CLARIFY the distribution of authority, roles and responsibilities among government institutions concerned with migrant workers issues. 6. REVIEW the placement costs and protection system of Terminal INVESTIGATE TE corruption allegations in the Indonesian labour migration system and process. 8. AUDIT the protection fund for migrant workers. 9. IMPROVE the departure and placement system for migrant workers. 10. INVOLVE VE the migrant workers trade unions in the pre-departure process. Overseas Workers (BNP2TKI) said that the President Susilo Bambang Yudhono already gave a direct order to improve the services and protection to all Indonesian migrant workers. Indonesian migrant workers deserve no less than the best protection and services, stated Jumhur, quoting what the President said to him. In addition, the event addressed the plight of migrant workers through a photo gallery which documented training programmes and advocacy activities conducted by the SBMI and the goodwill ambassadors, as well as testimonies from former migrant workers. The testimonies urged the Indonesian Government to recognize and protect Indonesian migrant workers rights, in order to halt exploitation and human trafficking inherent in the migration process for Indonesian migrant workers currently. 3

4 From US 2009 will be an interesting and difficult year for Indonesia. The global financial crisis is challenging government, employers and workers. It will likely result in a fall in employment and will put pressure on companies to reduce their costs. It is also an election year when the people will decide which parties and candidates have the best policies for good government and development. No doubt employment will be a central theme in the national election. In many respects Indonesia is well-placed to deal with consequences of the financial crisis. The lessons learnt from the Asian financial crisis ten years ago and the changes made following that crisis, including those relating to democracy, labour rights and social dialogue, will enable Indonesia to develop better policies and strategies and cope with the effects of the current global crisis. Consultation and cooperation between government, employers and workers will be an important means for formulating and implementing strategies and minimizing the impact of the crisis and to provide protection and support for businesses and workers. The ILO is also well-placed to assist Indonesia this year with its continuing programmes in the fields of youth employment, skills development, labour migration, child labour and education and poverty reduction as well as with new projects under development in the fields of labour intenstive infrastructure development, entrepreneurship training, local economic development and green jobs. The ILO has already convened several high-level policy forums about strategies for dealing with the impact of the economic crisis on the world of work. The ILO Declaration on Social Justice for Fair Globalization adopted by the International Labour Conference in June 2008 will provide the basis for improved assistance of the ILO through its Decent Work Country Programme for Indonesia. Times of challenges can also be a time of opportunities for making necessary improvement. This was the experience in Indonesia with the Asian financial crisis. In many ways, difficult times bring out the best in people and cause us to focus on the most crucial issues. We look forward to continue working with our partners in government, employers, unions, NGOs and donor communities and with our colleagues in the ILO and other UN agencies in promoting full and productive employment and decent work for all Indonesians in Only ONLY a small number of companies in Indonesia have written HIV and AIDS policies and implemented any HIV and AIDS prevention and education workplace programmes. In practice, most companies still decline the newly recruited if they are found to be HIV positive, according to a new report released on Tuesday, 2 December The report is being released in conjunction with the commemoration of the World AIDS Day. The report found that many companies do not perceive HIV and AIDS as a threat to their company performance. However, the majority of companies in the survey (58 percent) still have HIV and AIDS free condition as a requirement for career promotion and rotation. Fewer companies claim to have it as a cause for job termination, but the number is still high (50 percent). The health condition of the employees and their special skills were the main characteristics considered by the companies when employing HIV positive employees. These key findings were discussed by Sofjan Wanandi, President of the Indonesian Employers Association/Apindo), Dr. Nafsiah Mboi, Secretary of National Commission on AIDS, and Shinta Widjaja Kamdani, Chair of Indonesian Business Coalition on AIDS. The discussion was live broadcast by the SmartFM network in five provinces. Dr. Nafsiah Mboi, Secretary of National Commission on AIDS, confirmed the findings. She admitted that many companies tend to reject new recruits found to be HIV and AIDS positive. It is disheartening. Many people living with HIV are able to work for years without any decline in their productivity and their overall performance, said Nafsiah. ILO/ILO Jakarta Minister of Justice and Human Rights, M. Andi Mattalatta, and Country Director of the ILO, Alan Boulton, during the commemoration of the Human Rights Day 2009 in Jakarta. 4

5 Special FEATURE Few Companies Have Written HIV and AIDS Policies Meanwhile, Shinta Widjaja Kamdani, chairwoman of the Indonesian Business Coalition on AIDS, said companies needed to see the impact of HIV/AIDS on their businesses before they would consider it a serious problem that had to be addressed. Sofjan Wanandi, chairman of the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo), added that businesses needed a government push to tackle the problem more seriously. The companies, however, can assist the government, through HIV and AIDS education and training programmes for their workers. ILO/ILO Jakarta to company regulation and only a few have the policy integrated to collective labour agreement. For companies who considered HIV and AIDS a threat, most mentioned the potential impact on productivity and absenteeism (76 percent), recruitment and training expenses (64 percent) as well as medical expenses (71 percent). Papua, followed by Riau Islands, were the regions with the highest concern about the potential impact on company performance. Generally, the survey found that most companies do not pay enough attention to the epidemic. Approximately 91 percent of companies do not allocate regular budget to HIV and AIDS prevention. Only around 29 percent companies provide regular health test for employees, of which only 31 percent include a HIV and AIDS test. Daily working situation in one of the factories. (Insertion) The AIDS World Day Talkshow. The study was conducted by the ILO in collaboration with Taylor Nelson Sofres (TNS), a leading multinational research company. The study involved 803 companies and was conducted in four provinces (DKI Jakarta, East Java, Riau Islands and Papua), covering secondary cities in each of the provinces (Malang, Sidoarjo, Tanjung Pinang, Timika and Sorong). These cities were selected due to their high prevalence or risk of HIV and AIDS cases. Papua is the only region that has a significantly higher prevalence rate than other regions. Most of the companies surveyed were privately owned domestic companies, explained Tauvik Muhamad, the ILO s programme officer, adding that trading, manufacturing and construction were the dominant sectors, together with the hospitality sector in Papua and Riau Islands. In addition, the study found that among the few companies (less than 10 percent) that claimed to have a written policy on HIV and AIDS, many of them integrated it ILO 90 In BRIEF IN 2009, the ILO will mark its 90 th anniversary. In recognition of this milestone the ILO s tripartite constituents will organize high level national events, under the theme of social dialogue on decent work for a fair globalization. The events will take place between 21 and 28 April. It was on 28 April 1919 that the draft of the ILO s original Constitution was approved by the Versailles Peace Conference. 5

6 EmployMENT Creating Decent and Productive EMPLOYMENT in Indonesia THE The ILO is supporting the Government of Indonesia in placing decent and productive employment at the centre of economic and social policies. In August 2008, the ILO in collaboration with the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) hosted a Policy Dialogue on a Strategy for Creating Decent and Productive Employment in Indonesia. The Policy Dialogue was timely as the Government in the second half of 2008 began preparing the next Medium-Term Development Plan It explored various issues such as setting employment targets; promoting decent work through infrastructure investments; skills strategies; promoting sustainable 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. what s inside? Headline 1 From Us 4 Child Labour 12 Flash News 3 Employment 6 Migrant Workers 12 Social Protection 18 From the Region 19 Social Dialogue 16 In Brief 4, 7, 25 Agenda 28 Staff Corner 28 ILO/ILO Jakarta enterprises; targeted labour market policies for youth; and improved mechanisms for decentralized collective bargaining and dispute resolutions. In preparation of the Policy Dialogue, the ILO prepared two documents: the Labour and Social Trends in Indonesia 2008: Progress and Pathways to Job-rich Development and a working paper titled Enunciating a national employment strategy for Indonesia what do we know and what should we do? The two documents will serve as strategic inputs into the development of the next Medium-Term Development Plan. Alan Boulton, Country Director of the ILO in Indonesia, stated that the Policy Dialogue had underscored the importance of a comprehensive national employment strategy, with appropriate targets and a monitoring and evaluation framework. The Policy Dialogue noted that the employment strategy needs to address not only the quantity of jobs but also their quality and the issue of poverty, he said. The Policy Dialogue noted that the employment strategy needs to address not only the quantity of jobs but also their quality and the issue of poverty. Kee Beom Kim, Economist of the ILO in Indonesia added that a strategy needed to carefully balance the need for economic flexibility with that of security for workers. There was a consensus that ways of promoting decent and productive employment in the formal sector and in labourintensive industries needed to be examined and in facilitating the movement of workers from less productive jobs to more productive jobs. The employment strategy also needed to address skills development through a sectoral-based approach, the promotion of sustainable enterprises, the facilitation of both domestic and overseas labour migration. The multiple issues associated with the employment strategy required a renewed focus on policy coherence between macroeconomic and labour market policies and in placing decent employment at the centre of economic, labour and social policies. In all of these areas, there was a need to continue supporting the Government of Indonesia in the development of the next Medium-Term Development Plan. 6

7 In BRIEF With Indonesia undergoing decentralization, it was important for the employment strategy to take this issue into account. Furthermore, the design and implementation of a comprehensive employment strategy required meaningful social dialogue. In this respect, it was important to build the capacities of the Government, workers and employers organizations. ILO/OECD Experts Meeting on Fostering local employment and skills strategies in Indonesia and the Philippines A series of ILO Photo Exhibitions: A Portrait of the World of Work in Indonesia A. Mirza/ILO Jakarta As a follow-up to the Policy Dialogue held in August 2008, which had emphasized the need fo r employment strategies to take into account the context of decentralization, the ILO partnered with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to bring together leading policymakers and experts from Indonesia, Philippines and OECD member countries to discuss and share local employment and skills challenges and development approaches. The experts meeting explored a number of key areas including upgrading the skills of the low-qualified; integrating the vulnerable into the labour market; policy implementation mechanisms in the context of decentralization; employment services at the local level; skills development in the urban context; and the design and governance structure of effective local policies. One important theme that emerged from the discussions was the critical need for partnerships, between governments, the business community, workers and other stakeholders, in developing and implementing employment and skills strategies at both central and local levels. The current context of the global financial crisis underscored the importance of partnerships for solution identification and efficiency. The Experts Meeting underscored the critical need to promote employment and productivity growth through appropriate skills development based on qualifications and competencies, said Alan Bouton, Country Director of the ILO in Indonesia. Skills development, according to Kee Beom Kim, Economist of the ILO in Indoneisa, in particular had to take into account the needs of small- and medium- sized enterprises, which in countries such as Indonesia and the Philippines typically operated in the informal economy and which absorbed the vast majority of the workforce. Thus, better and relevant labour market information and statistics are necessary for policy-making at both central and local levels, he added. The experts meeting also highlighted that there was considerable scope for the OECD and the ILO to strengthen its collaboration including on research, capacitybuilding, and expanding the information sharing between other ASEAN and OECD countries. ON the occasion of the visit of Minister Donner to Indonesia, the Dutch Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment hosted the photo exhibition A Portrait of the World of Work in Indonesia from October in The Hague, the Netherlands. Minister Donner attended the ASEM meeting in Bali together with colleagues from Europe and Asia. The photo exhibition in The Hague informed staff in the Ministry and visitors of the Decent Work agenda of the ILO in general and more specifically the issues the ILO works on in Indonesia. The exhibit and (other) materials on the ILO were very well received and provided the ILO with an opportunity to strengthen the linkages with and between constituents. The photo exhibition marked the fourth exhibition of the Portrait of the World of Work in Indonesia. The first exhibition was held in Jakarta for a whole month in May 2007, followed by Geneva for the ILO s annual International Labour Conference in June 2008, and in Turin (the International Training Centre) in July Next year, it the photos 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 a French photojournalist, Thierry Falise. Visitors of the Hague exhibition in Netherlands. ILO/ILO Jakarta 7

8 ILO-EAST Project/ILO Jakarta EmployMENT AS a follow up to the recommendations from the Policy Dialogue on a Strategy for Creating Decent and Productive Employment in Indonesia, which was held in Jakarta on August 2008, the ILO through its Job Opportunities for Youth (JOY) programme initiated an assessment of the labour market for the employmentintensive manufacturing sectors. The assessments were aimed to improve the understanding of present and future opportunities for employment in selected sub-sectors, to provide suitable recommendations to remove existing obstacles and to improve employment levels in these subsectors. In consultation with the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas), the ILO-JOY programme identified three sub-sectors that were considered as employment-intensive priority sub-sectors, namely: i) Food and beverages, ii) Electrical appliances, electrical machineries and machineries, and iii) Textile, textile products and footwear sub-sectors. Three reputable research institutions were also appointed to conduct the assessments: the Center for Economics and Development Studies of the Padjadjaran University (CEDS-UNPAD), the Demographic Institute of the University of Indonesia (LD-UI) and the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). The three assessments revealed interesting findings related to the character of each sub-sector. These key findings were presented to Bappenas and other SOSIMUS Mekas was the Provincial Coordinator of the ILO s Education and Skills Training for youth employment (EAST) project in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT). He used to be called Pak Sos by his colleagues. He was known as a dedicated and generous person, with a big smile on his face. At the beginning of the 2009, on the first of January, Pak Sos was called to rest. He was buried in Kupang on 4 January Pak Sos earned his first degree in English literature from the University of Nusa Cendana in Kupang, where he A Sectoral Employment for the Next stakeholders on 9 December 2008 in one of a series of workshops on employment strategic issues. The findings and recommendations will be incorporated in the next medium-term development plan From left to right: Maxensius Tri Sambodo (The Indonesian Institute of Sciences/LIPI), Dr. Mesdin Simaritama (National Development Planning Agency), Dr. Rahma Iryanti (National Development Planning Agency), Teuku Rahmatsyah (ILO), Prof. Dr. Sri Moertiningsih Adioetomo (LD-UI), Deni Friawan (CSIS), and Dr. Kodrat Wibowo (CEDS-UNPAD). In Memoriam used to teach. He won an AusAID scholarship and earned a master s degree in linguistics from the University of Sydney, Australia. Before joining the ILO in November 2007, he worked for Save the Children and AusAID NTT. He was born in Kumba-Manggarai (NTT), on 29 March Pak Sos was married with Mariana Aghow (Ance), and together they had two children, Maria Dulcisima Mekas (Cici) and Petrus Philipus Mekas (Rusli). Cici recently graduated from university and Rusli is still in high school. With the death of Pak Sos, we have all lost an excellent colleague and above all a friend. He was the person who thought and acted beyond his direct tasks. We will carry on the work and he will be with us, in our thoughts and actions. He has inspired us all, said Peter van Rooij when conveying his condolences on behalf of all the ILO staff during the funeral ceremony. All of the ILO staff convey our most sincere sympathy to Pak Sos family, relatives and friends. He has given significant contributions to the ILO s works in NTT. May he rest in piece. Selamat jalan Pak Sos ILO/ILO Jakarta 8

9 Strategy Approach Medium- Term erm erm Development Plan EmployMENT KEY Findings Food and Beverages Sub-sector Most of production workers are junior high school graduates with a tendency to employ more senior high school graduates; while, supervisory and managerial positions are occupied by diploma or undergraduate degree holders with quality assurance 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 the skills that they have acquired. Thus, one of the recommendations from the CEDS-UNPAD is for the firms to improve their workers skills by collaborating with training providers that are properly accredited with the support of the government. Electrical appliances, electrical machineries and machineries sub-sector Undertaken by LD-UI, this sub-sector looks promising, especially in terms of accessing latent domestic demand. Despite the increasing competition from imported products, nationally produced products would still be competitive within the domestic market provided that the government is more committed to combating illegally imported products and to improve customs performance. Another significant finding is that the sub-sector is dependent on the import of components, the value added to the sector is small, and it is dominated with either semi-skilled or un-skilled workers as a result of the sub-sector s labour market equilibrium. There is clearly a need for the government to raise the skill equilibrium in the sub-sector through policies on the FDI nature 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 this sub-sector has declined with a decrease in real growth and poor export performance due to a range of factors, among others: high energy and labour costs, illegal imports, increase in competition in the international market, and a lack 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-intensive towards more capital-intensive. While the majority of workers are low-skilled labour with an elementary and junior high school education, this sub-sector is in shortage of high-trained workers as educational institutions such as the Advanced School of Textile Technology (STTT) is still unable to fill the gap. The study recommended strengthening the customs system to curb illegal products, increase investment in infrastructure support, facilitate business friendly environment through regulatory and bureaucratic reform, and strengthen the related educational institutions to meet the growing demand for skilled workers in the textile industry. 9

10 Child LABOUR Back to School through TRANSITIONAL EDUCATION IN an effort to assist child labourers to go back to school, the ILO through its International Programme for the Elimination of Child Labour (ILO-IPEC) conducted a series of two and a half day trainings on socialization of transitional education. The trainings were jointly conducted in collaboration with Local Education Office in three targeted areas: Sukabumi in West Java from July 2008, Banyuwangi in East Java from August 2008 and Medan in North Sumatra from October Targeted towards teachers and tutors, a total of 90 teachers and tutors from selected schools participated in the training. These schools were selected for their high rate of drop-out children from surrounding villages. The Learning condition in one of the schools in Indonesia. trainings focused on improving the capacities of teachers and tutors in designing an effective bridging course and remedial classes for children re-entering the school using the Transitional Education Manual, said Arum Ratnawati, Chief Technical Adviser of the ILO-IPEC Programme. In bringing the children back from dropping out and from work to schools, transitional education plays an important role in smoothing the transition process to bring these children back to formal and non-formal education systems as well as to assist them to stay in the system. There are two types of assistance given by the transitional education: remedial education and a bridging course. The remedial education provides returning children with special remedial support within a regular classroom context; while the bridging education involves an intensive compensatory course designed to raise academic proficiency. This atypical education appears suitable to A. Mirza/ILO Jakarta either non-formal community schools or to formal school facilities prior to, during or after regular classes. In the trainings, the participants were trained to provide the bridging course for child labourers and other vulnerable children who are at risk of becoming child labourers. They were also trained on how to develop lessons learnt for remedial classes for low achieving children to prevent them from dropping out and becoming child laborers. I learnt new teaching models to be applied at classes and found how weak my current teaching style was. The training has reminded me of the influence my teaching style has to the childrens motivation, said one of the participants in their feedback card. To make the training more interesting for the participants, the participants from North Sumatra were taken to watch the Laskar Pelangi movie. The movie had successfully inspired the participants regarding the role of teachers in motivating the children. I cried during the movie and remembered my The remedial education provides returning children with special remedial support within a regular classroom context; while the bridging education involves an intensive compensatory course designed to raise academic proficiency. school in the village. I was motivated by the movie to learn many things in the training to keep the children at school said Suprapti, the participant from Sipispis, North Sumatra. At the end of the training, each school developed a draft program structure for both the bridging course and the remedial program that will be implemented in their school. The main challenge identified, however, was to provide a better understanding about issues related to child labourers, not only to the participants but also to the surrounding communities. Local communities still have a lack of understanding about the terms of child labourers. For them, it is normal for children to work to help their parents getting additional income, said Arum. However, we believe that all children should go to school for a better future as an adult. We can strengthen their education through the remedial and the bridging course program. 10

11 Child LABOUR Improving Actions against CHILD LABOUR A. Mirza/ILO Jakarta STRENGTHENING the capacity of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in dealing with child labour is urgently needed. Considering the complexity of child labour problems in Indonesia, in particular its worst forms, it is important for relevant stakeholders to have sufficient capacity to solve the problem. Therefore, to improve the capacities of the local partners in implementing action programmes against the worst forms of child labour (WFCL), the ILO through its Child Labour Programme (IPEC) conducted trainings on design, management and evaluation (DME) from October 2008 in Jakarta and on December 2008 in Jember, East Java. Breaking NEWS NEW REGULATION for Better Future without Child Labour Minister of Home Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia, Mardiyanto, recently issued the Decree of Minister of Home Affairs No. 6 Year 2009 concerning General Guidelines on Establishment of the Regional Action Committee, Development of the Regional Action Plan, and Community Development on the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour (WFCL). The Decree aims to encourage the provincial/city government to expedite the implementation of the National Action Plan (NAP) on Elimination of WFCL in Indonesia. This is also to support the coordination, integration, and sustainability of the NAP. A total of 56 programme staff from 28 institutions participated in the trainings. These selected participants will be invited to participate in the next bidding process to implement the ILO-IPEC s action programmes in four types of worst forms of child labour: plantation sector, child domestic labour, street children, and child trafficking. In the training, the participants were introduced to various child labour issues, ranging from understanding child labour and its worst forms, developing action programme, managing financial issue as required by the ILO-IPEC, to understanding direct beneficiary monitoring and record (DBMR) system, managing child labour monitoring system and mainstreaming gender into action programmes against child labour. Applying a participatory approach, the participants were encouraged to actively share their knowledge and experiences. They were also guided on how to develop or improve their draft action programmes against child labour. For most of us, this kind of training was the first training where we were facilitated to develop such programmes with a clear logical framework, said Ayun, an activist from Trafficking of Women and Children District Committee, Jember. Sarlistiarso, a participant from West Java, appraised the child beneficiaries monitoring form. The form will help us a lot when doing the monitoring and can be used as a useful reference to identify which children have already been withdrawn and which have been prevented to enter such work. Similarly, Dede Suhendri, a participant from Lampung, said that the tools introduced in the training will be able to ease and smooth the implementation of the action programmes. Ahmad Marzuki, one of trainers, applauded the efforts and enthusiasms shown by the participants. They were very serious to well absorb the training information. Although they still need to improve their capacity on logical frameworks, they are very keen to learn. I believe this can develop a more dynamic, more constructive, and stronger network on child labour. 11

12 Migrant WORKERS From a Migrant Worker to a Cooperative Leader WANITI, 38 years old, is living with her three kids in Kasembon Malang District, East Java. She is a former migrant worker who once worked in Hong Kong as a domestic worker for five years from 1999 to When working in Hong Kong, Waniti admits that she had little knowledge about managing her salary. She mostly spent her income on daily household expenditures for foods and other necessities. I spent it for my children s education, and to buy a house and a rice field for my family. I never thought of saving my income or using it for business, she said. She started to learn about the importance of saving and investment The cooperatives not only can generate income but also create jobs through multiplier effects that in turn will enable other rural enterprises to grow and provide local jobs. when she joined a training conducted by the Indonesian Migrant Workers Union in Hong Kong. When she finally came back home, she started a business association with other former migrant workers in 2005 in the form of a migrant workers cooperative. At first, I didn t know what to do to get income in the village. I even thought to work overseas again. Then, after finding it difficult to get a loan from the bank, I decided to try establishing a cooperative called Koperasi TKI Purna Citra Bumi Mandiri, she stated. Waniti learnt that most of the banking institutions refused to deal with clients with limited income or money. Yet, most of former migrant workers like her are only able to save a limited amount of money from Rp to Rp (USD 10 cent to 1) per month. After establishment she then expanded the services provided by the cooperative. The cooperative is now providing various products from food and agricultural products, dairy milk, to fertilizer and micro credit. The cooperative in collaboration with various institutions also provides its members with training programmes. Together with the ILO through its Cross- Border Labour Migration Project, the cooperative has provided cooperative management and step down start your business (SYB) trainings. Funded by the Government of Japan, the five-year project has run since 2005 and specifically covers East Java, as one of the main sending areas of migrant workers. The project focuses on knowledge base and policy research, statistical and information systems, national policy and institutional reforms, improved bilateral cooperation, capacity building for good governance of migration process, and effective remittance systems and productive investment. We also work together with the Seafast Centre, a training provider from the Bogor Agricultural Institute (IPB), to conduct training on food safety and processing and with the Malang District Manpower Office on traditional herbs. These trainings have stimulated many former migrant workers to start up their businesses, said Muhamad Nour, the ILO s Project Coordinator in East Java. The ILO, said Muhamad, recognizes the greater role of migrant workers cooperatives in migrant communities to promote productive use of remittances, as most of personnel in the cooperative are former migrant workers with similar background and experiences. Migrant Worker Project/ILO Jakarta The Citra Bumi Mandiri cooperative has formally registered at the Malang District Cooperative Office in With a total of 29 key members and 100 migrant families, the cooperative now has total assets of Rp. 130 million. Its members have benefited from the productive use of remittances, credit for health and education and income generating activities. The self-confidence of Waniti has also proved that women can play an important role in socio-economic activities to improve the lives of their families and their communities. 12

13 Migrant WORKERS Utilizing MIGRANT WORKER S Remittances for Productive Investment in Indonesia Remittances THE recent ILO study, Leveraging Migrant Workers Remittances and Their Impact on Economic Development, found that the vast majority of migrant workers families depend entirely on the remittances sent by their loved ones overseas. For Indonesia, migrant workers remittances, USD 6.1 billion annually, constitute the second-most important source of foreign income. For a growing number of Indonesian provinces, remittances constitute their most important source of income, surpassing the role of national government transfers. Yet, registered Indonesian remittances continue to decrease in both absolute and relative terms, also when compared to other Asian countries. As a result, in 2007 registered Indonesian remittances were only 1.6 percent of GDP, whereas registered Philippine remittances for 2007 constituted 13 percent of GDP. One of the discussion sessions held at the National Stakeholder Consultation on remittance in Jakarta. The study was commissioned by the ILO through its Project on Combating Forced Labour and Trafficking of Indonesian Migrant Workers, funded by the Norwegian Government. Conducted in five provinces, (West Java, East Java, Central Java, Lampung and West Nusatenggara), the study analyzed the financial needs of migrant workers throughout the migration and reintegration process and documented the utilization of remittances by migrant domestic workers and their families, as well as existing financial services available to migrant workers and their families. The study was discussed and reviewed by senior representatives of all main national and selected local stakeholders at the National Stakeholder Consultation on 25 November 2008 in Jakarta. Apart from improving the standard of living of their own families, Indonesian migrant workers are also helping the economic growth of their country, exclaimed Abdul Malik Harahap, Director of Placement of Indonesian Overseas Workers, Directorate General of Placement of Workers, Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration in his opening remarks. Alan Boulton, Country Director of ILO in Indonesia, said that remittances of migrant workers play a crucial role in supporting the poorest segments of society in Indonesia. Not only do remittances provide sustenance for migrant workers families, but it also enables them to improve their lives. Facilitating migrant workers access to financial services and information, thus, boosts migrant workers utilization of remittances for savings and productive investment, which in turn will strengthen the positive impact of migration on Indonesian economic and social development, he added. Migrant Worker Project/ILO Jakarta The study found that only a minority of migrant workers and their families use remittances for business development. They instead spend it on daily household expenditure for foods and other necessities. This reflected the fact that most migrant workers families are from a poor, rural background, with no other significant means of income. Apart from improving the standard of living of their own families, Indonesian migrant workers are also helping the economic growth of their country. The study furthermore found that Indonesian migrant workers have no effective access to financial services and loans from commercial banks and microfinance institutions at any stage of the migration process, from the pre-departure to the reintegration phase. In addition, the majority of migrant workers considered informal remittances services, transferred through friends, relatives, middlemen, or hand-carried by migrant workers themselves, easier, cheaper and more effective compared to the formal ones. The study concluded that financial institutions should improve their capacity to tap the potential market of migrant workers with financial products and services tailored to their needs and widely accessible at the local level. The study also urged local governments to put financial education and business development programmes at community level as a priority. 13

14 EmployMENT INDONESIA to formulate Youth Employment THE SECOND Action Plan ILO/ILO Jakarta Peter van Rooij, Deputy Director of the ILO in Indonesia, shared international experiences on youth employment. THE Indonesia Youth Employment Network (IYEN) continues its commitment to find innovative strategies and programmes to tackle youth unemployment in Indonesia. The IYEN emphasizes the importance of mainstreaming the issue of youth employment into the next Medium Term Development Plan as guidance for the development of the next Indonesia Youth Employment Action Plan. To further discuss the next Action Plan, the Ministry of Coordinating Economic Affairs facilitated a focus group discussion from November 2008 to collect inputs and feedback from various stakeholders on key strategies and programmes for youth employment in Indonesia. The discussion was attended by representatives from government, employers organizations, trade unions and youth organizations. During the discussion, Peter van Rooij, Deputy Director of the ILO in Indonesia, stated that Indonesia is the only lead country which has completed the evaluation of its action plan and the other eighteen lead countries will review and learn from Indonesia s experiences. He also provided an overview on strategies developed by Brazil, Syria and some African countries in tackling youth employment issues. In Brazil, for example, in 2007 the Brazilian Government announced its intention to develop a new youth employment policy under a unified program called Projovem (the unification of various programs from across various ministries), which by 2010 aims to provide provided educational, social and professional qualification opportunities to 4.2 million young people between the ages of 15 and 29 in socially vulnerable situations. He also shared experiences from Mali, where the private sector has created an internship programme for young people in local businesses. In Senegal, Guinea and Sierra Leone, the private sector has initiated programmes on business development for job creation through business mentors and access to finance for young entrepreneurs. At the end of the meeting, participants proposed several programs that should be taken as priorities in the next action plan. They are: 1) Better policy and programmes on skills training for young people; 2) Improving the environment for young entrepreneurs; 3) Improving labour market regulations to the benefit of young women and men; 4) Protecting the rights of work for young workers; 5) Transparent, accountable and accessible labor market information system for youth; and 6) Promoting gender equality in employment for youth. Editorial 14 Editor-in-Chief: Alan Boulton Deputy Editor-in-Chief: Peter van Rooij Executive Editor: Gita Lingga Editorial Coordinator: Gita Lingga Circulation: Budi Setiawati Contributors: Abdul Hakim, Albert Y. Bonasahat, Arum Ratnawati, Dede Shinta Sudono, Fauzan Azhima, Gita Lingga, Kee Beom Kim, Lotte Kejser, Lusiani Julia, M. Bey Sonata, Muhamad Nour, Matthieu Cognac, Olivia Nevissas, Riska Efriyanti, Rolly Damayanti, Teuku Rahmatsyah, and Vanda Day. Design & Production: Balegraph ILO Jakarta Newsletter Menara Thamrin Building, Level 22 Jl. M. H. Thamrin Kav 3, Jakarta 10250, Indonesia Ph. (62-21) , Fax (62-21) jakarta@ilo.org, Website: The ILO Jakarta Newsletter is a bilingual newsletter aimed at dealing with the very substance of the ILO Jakarta s work in Indonesia. The newsletter is published three times a year and is also available online. The opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the views of the ILO.

15 UPGRADING the skills of managers in MICROFINANCE MICROFINANCE institutions in Indonesia play an important role in supporting the development of micro, small and medium enterprises by providing access to a range of financial services. The sector is gearing up particularly in semi urban and rural areas, reaching more people from informal to formal economy. With more than 10,280 microfinance institutions in the country, the sector will need skilled and well trained senior and middle managers to improve the performance of their institutions as well as accommodate for the increased outreach to small enterprises and people who are self-employed. Realizing the future opportunities of the microfinance industry on the demand of skilled and competent workers, the ILO with the support from the Indonesian Central Bank has been implementing a one-year pilot programme, Making Microfinance Work: Managing for Improved Performance. This programme is designed to upgrade the managerial skills of senior and middle managers of micro finance institutions (MFIs). The certification for trainers on Making Microfinance Work is an international recognition which has been implemented in Africa, Central Asia, Europe, the Middle East, North America and Southeast Asia by the ILO s International Training Center in Turin, Italy. Applicants should undertake three phases, which include face-to-face training with the ILO master trainers, mid exam and a two-week training of trainers. After completed the training, they are required to deliver a similar training for managers under the supervision of the master trainer and to pass the final exam. The trainers who meet the certification criteria during this delivery will be then accredited and will be able to offer the course on behalf of the ILO in the future. The first training of trainers was conducted in November 2008 in Jakarta. The two-week training exposed We should use this challenge as an opportunity to improve the skills of young middle managers to be able to meet the demand for financial services of people who want to start or have their own small business. M. Corzet/ILO Jakarta industry participants to a wide range of management tools and strategies for improving the effectiveness and efficiency of microfinance operations. Participants came from the Association of People s Credit Banks (BPRs), the Association of BPR Syariah, Credit unions, the Association of BMT, private firms, such as MICRA and BISMA. It is expected that by the end of the pilot programme, Indonesia will have accredited trainers who are capable of delivering high quality training to young managers of microfinance institutions. I have gained a new perspective of training techniques. The training module has designed in a comprehensive way with case studies and experiences from Daily transactions in one of the microfinance institutions. EmployMENT different countries. This training is about improving the individual and team ability as well as human resource awareness which in turn will improve the performance of MFI, said Mr. Stevanus Koten from Credit Union Mambuin from Manokwari, Papua. As part of its Decent Work Country Programme for Indonesia, the ILO supports employment creation through enterprise development. Access to financial services is one of the means to facilitate the start up and expansion of small enterprises, including for young Indonesians. We should use this challenge as an opportunity to improve the skills of young middle managers to be able to meet the demand for financial services of people who want to start or have their own small business, said Peter van Rooij, Deputy Director of the ILO in Indonesia. The ILO supports this skills upgrading as part of its commitment to assist Indonesia s Youth Employment Network (IYEN). 15

16 Social DIALOGUE ENHANCING Union Capacity in Occupational Safety and Health THE Manpower Act No. 13 of 2003 mandated every enterprise to apply an occupational safety and health management system to protect the safety of the workers and to realize optimal productivity. The cooperation of workers within the enterprise is vital for the prevention of occupational accidents and diseases. Workers duties in hazard control have as their counterpart the recognition of certain basic rights, and these should also be reflected in the enterprises policies. The protection of workers against work-related sickness, disease and injury forms part of the historical mandate of the ILO. The ILO s primary goal is to promote A worker fully equipped with safety gears. opportunities for women and men to obtain decent and productive work in conditions of freedom, equity, security and human dignity. The ILO consideres this as decent work. Decent work is safe work, and it is a positive factor for productivity and economic growth. To assist the workers in Indonesia in applying Occupational Safety and Health (OSH), the ILO in collaboration with the Japan International Labour Foundation (JILAF) and KSPI implemented a series of joint OSH training programmes targeted to the other two confederations, KSPSI and KSBSI. Started in 2007, the training has been conducted twice a year based on the existing JILAF-KSPI POSITIVE Programme in Indonesia. 16 As a participatory programme, these series of trainings started with a field visit to selected companies as a case study, where the participants review the OSH conditions and identify spots that need improvement. Upon return to class, they further discussed improvements that can be recommended. These recommendations will be then presented 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, East Java, from November As a case study, the participants visited and examined PT. Spindo in Surabaya. To date, these series of trainings have already trained a total of 65 master trainers. In the A. Mirza/ILO Jakarta last training, we also invited two unionists from Timor- Leste to join, Lusiani added. POSITIVE stands for Participation-Oriented Safety Improvement by Trade-union initiave. This programme has been developed to promote action-oriented training in OSH by trade union initiatives and how the unions can contribute to improved work conditions, especially at the plant level. Attention is also given to low-cost improvement. There are four objectives of this programme: (1) improving workplace conditions and reducing industrial accidents; (2) improving labour-management relations; (3) changing workers attitudes; and (4) strengthening of union organization. As a participatory programme, these series of trainings started with a field visit to selected companies as a case study, where the participants review the OSH conditions and identify spots that need improvement. Upon return to class, they further discussed improvements that can be recommended.

17 ENLARGING the Company s s Pie through Employee-Management Cooperation Social DIALOGUE TODAY S Indonesia is facing the impact of the global financial crisis, especially at the enterprise level, such as the pressure on business to reduce working hours, retrenchment, wages, working conditions, etc. To reduce the financial crisis s impact on labour and enterprise, the most appropriate way is to strengthen the bipartite dialogue and cooperation to find the best solution. Workplace bipartite cooperation can be achieved through the employee-management cooperation (EMC) approach, which has come to be a popular acronym in the world of work. In principle, the EMC is a joint mechanism for both workers and management to work out a joint solution to commonly shared problems. It is useful to distinguish between distributive issues, which are generally the subject of collective bargaining negotiations, and those issues of mutual concerns, which are generally within the ambit of the EMC. The EMC focuses on production to enlarge the company s pie ; meanwhile, collective bargaining focuses on the distribution of the pie between parties concerned. With the establishment of EMC, the workers and the management can discuss urgent matters that threaten to disrupt the relationship, or lower the competitiveness of the company whenever necessary. In an effort to gain further credibility as a professional and representative organization of value to its members, the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo) is seeking to continuously promote enterprise level cooperation and to develop related industrial relations services. On the other hand, the ILO s country programme and planning framework Decent Work Country Programme envisages strengthening the capacity of employers and workers Working relations between the management and workers in the manufacturing company. organizations to enable consensus and implementation of balanced policies to achieve labour market flexibility and job security. In a commitment to support the capacity building of A. Mirza/ILO Jakarta Apindo in this area, the ILO, supported by the Netherlands/ILO Cooperation Programme, assisted Apindo to benchmark good industrial relations practices and to develop training tools and resources on EMC from December 2008 in Jakarta. Ten companies were selected to share their experiences on establishing and implementing the EMC. The companies admitted that they gained numerous benefits from the EMC. It has improved working conditions, provided equal opportunity and pay for women and men workers, built mutual trust, opened better communications between workers and management, and prevented dispute. Some challenges that they faced were to properly schedule the meeting to allow more people to attend and the hesitation from the union at the beginning of the EMC establishment. These lessons learned will be published to raise awareness on the value of labor management cooperation and sound workplace relations. The training of trainers on EMC will also be organized with an immediate objective to have at least 30 master trainers on sound workplace relations and labor management cooperation, among the staff and affiliates of Apindo. Djimanto, Chairman of Apindo, emphasized that the EMC aims to foster cooperation and trust between management and workers to enlarge the company s pie. Management and workers may have different interest and needs, yet they have common vision and mission that the company is a place to grow and maintain competitiveness for their welfares. 17

18 Social PROTECTION yourself, your family and your business BY the 9 th of September 2008, in Indonesia, there were 139 people who were infected by avian flu virus (H5N1), of whom 113 died (fatality rate 81%). This makes Indonesia the highest in the world in terms of numbers of human cases. As the same with general population, workers, employers and the workplaces have the same risk of getting infected. In fact, the workplace can be used as an important point in promoting the raising awareness activities to prevent the spread of the avian influenza virus, because it is where people gather together and they can further continue to share the information with their families. Under its Avian Flu and the Workplace Project in Indonesia, the ILO has focused on training programmes on preventing the spread of avian flu for workers and on assisting small medium enterprises (SMEs) to protect their workers and business from influenza pandemic. Using a participatory actionoriented training programme, it is expected that during the training, participants will be able to develop the workable and low-cost actions that can be implemented in their workplaces or their neighbourhoods. A series of training of trainers were conducted in December The first training was organized from 3 4 December 2008 in Puncak, West Java. The training was targeted to workers, attended by 32 participants from the 18 Protect from AVIAN INFLUENZA Avian Flu Project/ILO Jakarta One of the ILO s trainings to prevent the spread of avian influenza virus, in particular in workplaces. three major labour union confederations (KSBSI, KSPSI and KSPI) from 6 provinces: DKI Jakarta, West Java, Central Java, East Java, Banten and Bali. The training also included representatives from APPSI (Domestic Workers Training and Placement Association). The training is aimed to strengthen the capacities of unions and to encourage workers to be more active in the occupational safety and health committee in their companies. Thus, as a follow up, the participants are required to deliver a similar training in their respective areas and neighbourhoods, said M. Bey Sonata, the Project Manager of the ILO s Avian Flu Project. The second training was conducted in collaboration with the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo) from December 2008 in Cikarang, West Java. This training was attended by 23 participants from Apindo West Java, East Java, Central Java, Banten, Bali as well as SMEs from Bekasi, Karawang and Cikarang. It aimed to raise awareness on the threat of the influenza pandemic and its impact to the business, and the importance of having the preparedness plan. In addition, practical, workable and low-cost intervention tools in developing preparedness plan for influenza pandemic were shared.

19 Learning from ourism development in East Java: Tourism development in From the REGION Yogyakarta and Malaysia As a result, communities involved foresee their role as hosts of a new tourism market which will present the opportunity for small and medium business... EARLY in 2008, local economic development (LED) forums in the districts of Malang and Pasuruan in East Java agreed to expand their economic potential in a transparent and effective communication process, involving members of the private sector, the government and civil societies. They selected tourism and agribusiness as their economic focus. The forums were established with the support of the ILO through its project on Job Opportunities for Youth (JOY). One of the aims of the project is to support subnational policy-makers to develop youth employment policies and local economic development approaches as an effort to create decent employment for young men and women. Since then, much was done to support these forums and the growth of their region. Agro tourism was highlighted as one activity to push through and a consensus was reached with Sparkling Surabaya, the provincial tourism board. The board agreed to develop tour packages designed for business travelers arriving in Surabaya. These packages are intended for business visitors to extend their trips by a few days and discover an untapped and splendid region, surrounded by Indonesian landmarks such as the Bromo volcano. As a result, communities involved foresee their role as hosts of a new tourism market which will present the opportunity for small and medium business creation such as restaurants, souvenir shops, and guiding companies. To prepare for this adventure and for the first test tour coming in December from Brunei, members of the LED forums of both districts participated in an agro-tourism study visit which took them to Yogyakarta and Malaysia in partnership with SparklingSurabaya and with Gadjah Mada University. Lectures were provided in Yogyakarta, and participants had the opportunity to visit well-managed tourism villages. Yet, the most fascinating part of the trip took place in Malaysia where they had the chance not only to see first hand how agro tourism could best be adapted in their region, but also to establish strategic links with government and tourism authorities. ILO-JOY Project/ILO Jakarta Participants when visiting a small agro farm in the Negeri Sembilan State, Malaysia. Participants met with the vice mayor of Ampang Jaya and learned how his government offers support to local communities such as in public services, in maintaining a green zone or in sustaining an efficient night market. Local government participants from the local planning agencies of Malang and Pasuruan took good notes of these remarks and so did the farmers and growers. The group also visited an agro farm in the Negeri Sembilan State, as well as MARDI (Malaysia Agricultural Research Development Institute) and paid a visit to the Cameron highlands, a highly successful tourism spot in Malaysia. Participants returned to Indonesia with their expectations met as they realized that they all had what it took to attract tourism in their districts just as it is done in Malaysia. Meanwhile Sparkling Surabaya reiterated their support in what many hope will be a new era for tourism development for the province of East Java. 19

20 From the REGION REBUILDING ACEH: Journey to a Fruitful Partnership FOUR years after the 2004 tsunami, the Province of Nanggroe Aceh Darusalam (NAD) has continuously stimulated development initiatives and economic empowerment at the community level. Since 2008, the government of NAD has synchronized its Kecamatan Development Programme (KDP) with the national government s National Program for Community Empowerment (PNPM). capacities, using the ILO s Gender and Entrepreneurship Together (GET Ahead) approach. Various hands-on training activities have been provided, mostly related to improving the sustainability of existing livelihoods related to agriculture, fishing, horticulture, and entrepreneurship. To date, this series of trainings has reached a total of 78 women. ILO Aceh-Nias Programme/ILO Jakarta Under its Aceh programme, the ILO is now working in three pilot districts of Aceh (Aceh Besar, Pidie and Central Aceh) to assist in building the capacities of PNPM or KDP facilitators and their platinum clients, the village women groups. The main idea of this ILO project is to bring all relevant development actors together to maximize the outreach of development initiatives in Aceh and to avoid overlapping amongst various development programmes initiated by different institutions, including the government, said Riska Efriyanti, the ILO s local project officer in Aceh. The ILO s programme in Aceh has specifically focused on gender and entrepreneurship. Together with the University of Syiah Kuala and the Aceh Provincial Fishery Office, the ILO has facilitated production skills training in Central Aceh and Pidie. These production skills trainings were aimed to boost entrepreneurship The women group proudly presented their syrup products. At first, I was doubtful about this training as I experienced numerous empty promises. Yet, I and the others are now very grateful. We heavily depend on our local resources and traditional production skills that we could not compete with marketdemanded products. Thanks to the hands-on training that we received, we now know how to better process our fish and turn them into various products with better quality and packaging. We are now looking for more market opportunities (Khairani, 35 years old, Panteraja Sub-district, Pidie) 20 what they say We used to sell our agricultural crops as they were. When the prices were very low, we just threw them away. No value at all. But now, we know how to turn our crops into more valuable and durable products, such as fruit jams, nata de pina, sauces and syrups. We learned from the Get Ahead training, with various product options in hand, we can expand our market. (Nurmaini, 29 years old, Pegasing Sub-district, Central Aceh) We did realize many development programmes initiated by the government overlapped with initiatives from other institutions. However, caught up with our daily work routines, we have never really put in an effort to coordinate with other institutions and link our programmes. However, through this collaboration, we have learnt the power of partnership to maximize the benefits gained for local communities. (Kanisullah, Head of training and Community Development Unit, NAD Provincial Fishery Office)

21 ILO to continue From the REGION rehabilitating roads in Aceh and Nias THE road sector was one of the worst affected sectors during the tsunami of December 2004 in Aceh and earthquake of March 2005 in Nias. With long experience in using local workers in such situations, the ILO has carried out the second phase of the project on local resource-based infrastructure rehabilitation starting October 2008 for a year. The first phase, starting March 2006, was ended in September Funded by the Multi Donor Fund, the Project provides jobs through labourbased methods of road repair while strengthening the capacity of local contractors and governments. The Project also aims at strengthening community participation in rural road development and maintenance as well as refining techniques, standards, systems and strategies for local resource-based road works. Immediate and long-term benefits of the Project include job creation, instruction in We have heard about the PNPM programme, but we finally learned what it was when the ILO linked us up with the programme. We then found out that the PNPM is closely related to our programmes on community responsibility. As an educational institution, we are also responsible for doing some real development initiatives on the ground, directly working with women in the villages. We are keen to explore other opportunities with PNPM and ILO in the future. (Asmawati, Lecturer and Trainer of the Agricultural Product Technology, University of Syiah Kuala). Rehabilitation of suspension bridge in Nias. ILO Aceh-Nias Programme/ILO Jakarta sound techniques, demonstration of transparent bidding procedures, and cost-effectiveness. Under the first phase, by September 2008, a total of 97,2 kilometers of rural roads were fully rehabilitated. About more than 215,000 worker-days of employment were created. The project has also improved the capacity of the Ministry of Public Work staff and contractors in Aceh Besar, Pidie, Bireuen, Nias and Nias Selatan in applying local resource-based road works. Meanwhile, in Nias and Nias Selatan, the Project has been able to open access for housing projects by rehabilitating bridges. In Pidie and Bireuen, the local government has committed to pledge a total of 20 kilometers of roads using the emulsion-based pavement road with technical assistance from the ILO Road Project. Under the second phase, it is targeted to rehabilitate 169 kilometers and maintain 161 kilometers of rural road using a more environmentally friendly pavement method called emulsion-based pavement road. The Project will closely collaborate with the government s Kecamatan Development Programme (KDP) and National Program for Community Empowerment (PNPM) in conducting the community-based maintenance system for rural roads in Aceh Province and in rehabilitating bridges in Nias. 21

22 EmployMENT The Global Financial Crisis and INDONESIA THE current global financial crisis is impacting many developing countries, including Indonesia. The IMF projects that economic growth in developing countries will slow to 6.6 per cent in 2008 and 5.1 per cent in 2009, compared to growth of 8.0 per cent in According to the IMF, amid a deepening financial crisis, Asia is confronting the likelihood of sharply slowing growth and increased vulnerabilities. 1 Indonesia is expected to avoid the recession and turmoil that engulfed the country a decade ago during the Asian financial crisis and is expected to fare better than other Asian economies, due in part to the closeness of the economy (exports represent around 30 per cent of the GDP a low figure compared to many East and South-East Asian economies), which tends to shelter the country from a volatile global environment. Nonetheless, Indonesia will not escape the global financial crisis and its impact is already being felt. After posting an economic growth rate of 6.3 per cent in 2007, the highest rate since the Asian financial crisis of 1997, and growth rates of 6.3 per cent and 6.4 per cent in the first and second quarters of 2008, Indonesia s economic growth eased to 6.1 per cent in the third quarter of 2008 and is expected to have eased further to 5.5 per cent in the fourth quarter of Prospects for economic growth in 2009 are even dimmer, with growth projections ranging from 3.7 per cent to 5.0 per cent. The Government expects 2 million existing jobs to be lost in 2009 as a consequence of slowing external demand, and is seeking to create 2.6 million new jobs, 600,000 of which through overseas placement. The latest labour force survey conducted in August 2008 indicates that Indonesia had a labour force of 112 million, of which 9.4 million were unemployed. Another 14.9 million persons were involuntarily underemployed on a timerelated basis. In general, the export and commodities sectors (commodities account for about 60 per cent of Indonesia s exports) will be most affected due to weakening foreign demand and falling commodity prices, and many layoffs have already been announced in these sectors. The Ministry of Manpower has recorded that between early November 2008 and January 5, 2009, 24,452 workers had been permanently dismissed while another 11,703 had been temporarily dismissed. Another 26,000 workers were in danger of being dismissed soon. To minimize the economic and social impact of the global financial crisis, the Government of Indonesia has recently announced several measures, including: ON JANUARY 7, 2009, Bank Indonesia lowered its benchmark interest rate from 9.25 per cent to 8.75 per cent, lowering the cost of borrowing for firms as inflation in December 2008, at 11.1 per cent compared to a year earlier, eased to six month lows and the central bank became increasingly concerned about future growth prospects. 2 ON JANUARY 5, 2009, the Government of Indonesia announced an economic stimulus package of IDR 50.5 trillion (US$ 4.6 billion) to help the country cope with the global financial crisis. Three-fourths of the amount (IDR 38 trillion) will be financed from unspent amounts leftover from the Government s 2008 budget while the rest will be financed from the 2009 state budget. 3 The package consists of tax relief, direct funding for sectors worst hit by the crisis, infrastructure projects and safety net programmes. In the first phase of the package (amounting to IDR 12.5 trillion), a value-added tax exemption will be provided to 17 sectors, including steel, textiles, palm oil and footwear and exemption from import duties for raw materials and components will be provided to 14 sectors including manufacturing. The stimulus is available to only certain industries that meet certain criteria, including those directly affected by the global economic slowdown, with a minimum of 500 employees and that sell their products in local and overseas markets. Businesses would also need to have made significant contributions to national exports and paid the correct taxes. 4 Specific details on the remaining three-fourths of the package are not expected to be released until mid January 2009 but are geared towards job creation and supporting the private sector. The economic stimulus is aimed at supporting the economy to grow at 5 per cent in 2009 and keeping the unemployment rate flat at 8.4 per cent, which the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs estimates may increase to 8.9 per cent without the stimulus. 22

23 EmployMENT Skyscrapers in Jakarta, Indonesia. ON DECEMBER 24, 2008, the Government announced that up to IDR 100 trillion (US$ 9.2 billion) had been set aside to finance infrastructure projects in The financing will come from the 2009 state budget and additional external funding. A quarter of that amount would be channeled to local administrations, which may also increase their own allocations into the infrastructure projects, while the rest will be implemented by the central government. 6 ON DECEMBER 15, 2008, the Government announced that in 2009 it will increase its poverty alleviation fund to IDR 78 trillion (US$7.1 billion) from an allocation of IDR 50 billion in 2008 in an effort to reduce the poverty rate, which was expected to rise as a result of the global financial crisis. 7 The poverty alleviation fund finances various programmes such as the direct cash transfer programme (BLT), the rice for poor people and school operational aids programme (BOS) as well as empowerment programmes such as the national community empowerment programme (PNPM) and the hope family programme (PKH). The Government is also seeking to increase its allocation for the smallholder credit programme (KUR) aimed at micro and small enterprises. In an effort to alleviate exports from the global credit crunch and strengthen export financing, the House of Representatives in December 2008 endorsed a bill establishing a new export financing agency (LPEI), which will replace the current Indonesia Export Bank (BEI). The new institution is expected to start operating by June of Whereas BEI provided loans based on collateral, LPEI will be able to provide loans based on export transactions and provide insurance and credit guarantees to exporting firms. As LPEI is designed to assume credit and insurance risks other commercial banks and lenders are not able or unwilling to accept, it is expected to benefit in particular small and medium- sized enterprises (SMEs). It will operate with an initial capital of IDR 4 trillion. The Indonesian Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration is continuing to monitor the number of dismissed workers. Registered companies employing workers are required to report plans to the Ministry that may result in layoffs. The Ministry has also indicated that it will intensify its voluntary transmigration programmes to workers laid off as a result of the crisis to relocate to areas less impacted by the crisis. The Ministry is also running programmes for job training, including for labourintensive sectors, labour networking, and a housing development programme. Through the latter, the Government is aiming to build between 50,000 and 100,000 homes, employing at least 500,000 workers. 8 Furthermore, in coordination with other Ministries and the National Social Security Company (Jamsostek), it was planning to use corporate social responsibility funds to set up a program to help laid-off workers with working capital loans carrying an interest of only three percent a year. IN OCTOBER 2008, the Ministers of Manpower and Transmigration, Trade, Industry and Home Affairs issues a Joint Ministerial decree aimed at limiting increases in regional minimum regional wages to help ensure the sustainability of 23

24 EmployMENT companies despite a slowdown in the global economy. The decree was made in the context of concerns that the annual deliberations would result in regional minimum wages being raised beyond the capabilities of manufacturing firms to cope with the global economic slowdown and in an effort to provide a safety net against layoffs. The initial decree contained a clause capping the increases in regional wages not to exceed the national economic growth rate but after a series of protests by unions, the clause was modified so that increases took into account the inflation rate in the respective regions. The decree also stipulates other efforts designed to empower the local economy against fallout from the global crisis. These include actions by the Ministry of Manpower to strengthen tripartite cooperation under a national tripartite forum, to promote effective communication between employers and workers and to improve the efficiency of the mediation process for resolving conflicts and avoiding lay-offs. Labour unions have also urged the Government to establish a crisis center as a forum for the tripartite partners and experts to meet and discuss layoff prevention strategies and provide businesses with loans for severance payments. 9 The Government is currently in the process of preparing a plan to assist returning overseas migrant workers, to which the ILO is providing support. The plan is expected to include entrepreneurship training, financial education, vocational training among others. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has taken steps for Indonesian embassies to help workers facing layoffs claim rights due to them. In mid December 2008, the Minister of Manpower indicated that 250,000 overseas migrant workers, mostly semi-skilled, had returned home before their contracts expired as their employers were hit by the financial crisis. The employers were mostly from Malaysia, the Republic of Korea, Hong Kong (China) and Middle Eastern countries. 10 (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, Jakarta Post: Stimulus to spur economy to 5%, January 6, Jakarta Globe: Business leaders cast doubt over stimulus package impact, January 7, Forbes: Indonesia plans $9.2 bln infrastructure bill in 2009, December 24, Jakarta Post: Infrastructure projects key to safeguarding economy, January 5, Jakarta Post: Govt prepares Rp 72t poverty fund, December 15, Jakarta Post: Govt expects to create 2.6 million new jobs, January 6, Jakarta Post: Labor unions warn of mass layoffs, January 3, Jakarta Post: 250,000 migrant workers sent home, December 18, IDENTIFYING From left to right: Ekkehard Ernst (Lead Economist of the International Institute for Labour Studies), Guntur Witjaksono (Head of International Cooperation and Administration, Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration) and Alan Boulton, Country Director of the ILO in Indonesia. THE ILO is conducting an assessment of the impacts of the global financial crisis and participating in different forums discussing the impact of the global financial crisis on Indonesia and identifying appropriate policy measures. On 2 December 2008, the Coordinating policy measures Rakyat Merdeka Ministry for Economic Affairs organized a High-level Roundtable Discussion on Employment Issues and Macro Policy Coherence in Indonesia in preparation of policy options of the impact of the global financial crisis on Indonesian manpower. Duncan Campbell, Director of the Economic and Labour Markets Analysis Department in ILO Geneva and Kee Beom Kim, Economist for the ILO Jakarta Office, provided presentations at the Ministry s request during the Roundtable. On 16 December 2008, the ILO also hosted a roundtable discussion on the impacts of the global financial crisis on the world of work following the regional launch of the World of Work Report 2008: Income Inequalities in the Age of Financial Globalization report, published by the ILO s International Institute for Labour Studies. The Meeting highlighted the need to closely monitor the manpower situation, particularly its impact on the informal economy and the working poor, strengthen labour market information collection and analysis for such monitoring, and the need to strengthen tripartite dialogue in identifying appropriate policy options in dealing with the impact of the financial crisis and creating a favourable industrial relations climate. 24

25 ILO on TV In BRIEF Indonesian Youth Challenge ILO/ILO Jakarta The ILO in collaboration with the Indonesian Employers Organization (Apindo) developed six episodes of TV talkshows on youth employment entitled Indonesian Youth Challenge. The 30-minute talkshow was broadcast by TV One, one of the leading private TV stations, every Sunday morning from from 14 September 19 October The talkshows raised various issues related to youth employment, ranging from youth unemployment, youth training programmes to youth entrepreneurship programmes, public-private partnership. The talkshow was hosted by Sofie Navita, an actress. Dialog Development Talkshow The ILO in collaboration with QTV broadcasted three episodes of a 30-minute joint talkshow, raising issues related to industrial relations and migrant workers in Indonesia from November to December QTV is targeted towards Indonesian executives in the form of executive lifestyle, entertainment, business, education, and information programs. It is broadcast via subscriber-based cable TV and satellite pay-tv services in Indonesia. ILO/ILO Jakarta enterprise level, and to migrant workers, explained Gita Lingga, the ILO s Communications Officer. The first talkshow talked about industrial relations in Indonesia, the second one regarding the employeemanagement cooperation, and the third regarding the plight of migrant workers. The talkshow presented the ILO s tripartite constituents from the government, employers and workers. It was part of the ILO s efforts to raise awareness of issues related to industrial relations, in particular at the The Third Regional Meeting for Asia and the Pacific ILO/ILO Jakarta THE Third Regional Committee Meeting for Asia and the Pacific was held in New Delhi from 1 to 5 September Twenty-one representatives (10 men and 11 women) from 14 offices in the region and Geneva attended. The meeting was a combined of meetings with trainings for all the staff representatives in the region. The trainings covered issues on recruitment and selection procedures, negotiation skills, conflict resolution and staff security. The meeting was concluded with the following conclusions and recommendations related to career development, work conditions and entitlements. 25

26 ILO/ILO Jakarta Inter VIEW RI system conducive to LABOR MOVEMENT Ten years ago this month, Indonesia ratified the ILO Convention No. 87/ 1948 on freedom of association and workers rights to organize under Law No. 21/2000 which has given birth to three major union confederations, 87 federations and more than 3,000 company-level union groupings nationwide. ILO executive director of labor standards Kari Tapiola, who witnessed the convention s ratification, shared on September 2008with The Jakarta Post s Ridwan Max Sijabat his observations and comments on the Indonesian labor union movement in the past decade. Question: How do you observe the development of the labor union movement in the past 10 years? Do you find the political system and conditions conducive to a democratic labor movement? Answer: The political system is conducive to a democratic labor movement, but workers and unions have to decide what kind of movement they want to have. Since the ratification of the ILO Convention No. 87, that has been possible. The first reaction, which was not surprising, was fragmentation, the creation of new organizations and splits in the old. At present, some further consolidation would be helpful, as voluntary unity gives more strength to the workers. What is your comment on the increasing number of labor unions? Are they effective in improving the position of workers in collective bargaining with employers? A system with two to four major national trade unions can function well if organizations can cooperate sufficiently among them. But if there are many small organizations, it is difficult to determine what the workers collective position is. And it is difficult to negotiate efficiently with the employers, who also need representative counterparts. The fragmentation of trade unions is not in the interests of the employers either. What is your comment on the ignorance of certain employers on the ILO convention, the interference of the security authorities in labor disputes and internal rifts among labor unions? Some of these reactions show that industrial relations in Indonesia are still in transition. Employers should not involve the police; forces or law and order should keep out of labor relations and conflicts and workers should concentrate on negotiations. Strikes in general should only be resorted to when negotiations fail and even strikes should be settled by negotiation, not by force. How has ILO responded to the reports on freedom of association violations in Indonesia? Has it issued any recommendation to the Indonesian government or has its committee of experts looked into the issue? Since the 1950s, 14 complaints have been made altogether to the ILO s Committee on Freedom of Association. This number includes serious cases before The ILO s Committee of Experts has also made comments. Recommendations have been made in all of the cases. Five cases are currently outstanding and further information is expected by the Freedom of Association Committee. The government has either already sent this information or promised to do so. The recent issues have concerned the involvement of the military in workplace matters, dismissals of trade union members and charging trade unionists for unpleasant acts. This concept is ambiguous and should be clarified. The ILO has also called for some amendments (sections 160 and 335) of the criminal code. How does ILO facilitate national awareness of the fundamentals of the ILO convention, especially among employers and investors in the country? This would be naturally done through cooperation with the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo), which for the ILO represents the Indonesian employers. Apindo has been very active in cooperation with the ILO. We can help to develop materials and give expertise. What is your comment on the fact that only 3.3 million out of 35 million workers in the Indonesian formal sector have unionized and only a small minority of more than 200,000 companies have signed collective labor agreements with their workers, while only 7.9 million workers have taken part in social security programs? If about 10 percent of workers in the formal sector are organized, actually that already gives a basis for the unions to make their views heard on labor matters. In many ways, the coverage of collective bargaining agreements is a more 26

27 Inter VIEW revealing figure and if that is low, it is necessary to look at the whole wage-fixing system. The extension of social security provisions depends above all on the national authorities. What is needed to raise the awareness of employers and workers on international labor standards such as freedom of association, collective bargaining, equal treatment, phasing out of child labor and labor protection? Through information, seminars and integration of the implications of fundamental labor rights into different training programs (for instance in police training). Rights at work include both workers and employers rights. What is ILO s contribution to workers education in improving their bargaining skills? What is the role that employers should play in improving workers competence and productivity? There is a big role for bipartite information and training activities, for both employers and trade union representatives. The freedom of association rights are absolute but the method to exercise them in practice is through dialogue and negotiation, which means finding economically and humanly viable solutions. As I already Agenda January May 2009 Training of Trainers on Preventing the Spread of Avian Flu for Workers (APPSI), Puncak, West Java, January Training of Trainers on Preventing the Spread of Avian Flu for Workers (KSBSI, KSPI, and KSPSI), Banten, January and Semarang, Central Java, 6 7 February The launch of findings of survey on collective bargaining agreement, Jakarta, end of January ILO/Apindo Workshop on Assisting Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs), West Java, February; Banten, February; Central Java, March; East Java, April; and Bali, May National Symposium on Trade Union and the Global Crisis, Jakarta, 16 February Training of Trainers on Start Your Business, Jakarta, February Provincial Youth Employment Strategy, East Java, February said, competent and representative trade unions are also in the interest of the employers. Outsourcing and contract-based systems allowed by the labor law have been perceived as a major threat to the freedom of association. What is your comment? Outsourcing can indeed be a threat if it is used to avoid negotiating with trade unions. It should not be used to weaken or bypass trade unions. What do you think of the bipartite efforts of employers and labor unions to settle industrial disputes? Bipartite cooperation makes tripartite cooperation and industrial relations healthy and strong. It should be strongly encouraged. What should labor unions do in the future to maximize the freedom of association and strengthen their legitimacy in representing workers? Labor unions should organize and seek to cooperate better with one another. Trade union rivalries always hurt the workers most. Panel Discussion on Social Security, Jakarta, 24 February Regional Seminar ILO/ASEAN/Japan Project on Industrial Relations, Bogor, West Java, February Making Finance Work Workshop, Jakarta, March Training of Trainers on Start Your Business, Jakarta, 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, April The Effective Employers Training, Bali, 30 March 2 April The Commemoration of the World Day for Safety and Health at Work, 28 April The commemoration of May Day, 1 May 27

28 ILO/ILO Jakarta Staff CORNER STAFF OUTING: Every two year, the Staff Union of ILO Jakarta organizes an outing for all of the ILO staff under the ILO Jakarta. In August 2008, around 25 ILO staff visited Yogyakarta and Solo for three days, visiting, among others, the former ILO s project sites in Bantul and the Laweyan Village. The outing is one of the ways for the ILO staff to be closer and to have fun together outside the office, said Gita Lingga, the Union Representative of ILO Jakarta. staff visiting the Laweyan village in Solo, Central Java. THE FUTSAL TEAM: The ILO s Futsal Team was set-up last year and has been practicing every Saturday. 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 not necessarily about losing or winning. It is mainly about being together with our constituents and being healthy through sports at the same time, said Peter van Rooij, the ILO s Deputy Director who is also the manager of the Futsal team. G.Lingga/ILO Jakarta (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) ILO/ILO Jakarta ILO GOES GREEN: The ILO joined the Go Green Programme conducted by the Toyota Astra Group in Rinjani National Park, Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, from January The ILO planted a total of 60 trees that will be maintained by 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. Smart Workers is a joint interactive talkshow of the ILO in collaboration with Smart FM, designed to raise awareness of basic rights in the workplace. For those who are interested in learning more about employment and labour issues, just tune in to 95,9 FM! Call: (021) SMS: