169 lines
9.2 KiB
Markdown
169 lines
9.2 KiB
Markdown
 **PT Istana** is a textile
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[factory](factory "wikilink") in [North
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Jakarta](Republic_of_Indonesia "wikilink") which has been
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[occupied](Occupation "wikilink") and [controlled by its
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workers](Workers'_Self-Management "wikilink") since 2007.
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## Events
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Jorge Martin, the International Secretary for Hands Off Venezeula,
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offered this account of the factory during his tour of
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[Malaysia](Malaysia "wikilink") and Indonesia:<em> </em>
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On November 11, 2008, we travelled to PT Istana, a textile factory in
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North Jakarta, [Indonesia](Republic_of_Indonesia "wikilink"), to visit
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the workers who have occupied it and are running it under workers'
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control. They were very interested in learning about the movement of
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[factory occupations in Latin
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America](Recovered_Factory_Movement "wikilink") in general and in
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particular the [experience in
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Venezuela](Bolivarian_Revolution "wikilink").
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When we arrived at the gates of the factory, we saw banners greeting us
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and the gates being guarded by the workers. At the top of the gates the
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banners from the different organisations involved in the occupation were
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flying high and proud: the PRP (Working Peoples' Association) and the
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FSBKU-KASBI (Federation of Karya Utama Union - Congress of Indonesian
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Union Alliance), which is a local [federation](Confederation "wikilink")
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of [unions](Trade_Unions "wikilink") belonging to KASBI. The
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[workers](Working_Class "wikilink") present, overwhelmingly women (many
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wearing the traditional [Islamic](Islam "wikilink") headscarf), were
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extremely pleased to receive support from an international delegation
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and were proud to show us what they had achieved through their struggle.
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First of all they offered us a meal, which they had cooked themselves in
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a corner of the factory yard and which we ate together in the building
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they use as an [assembly hall](Democratic_Assembly "wikilink"). The food
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was excellent but the thing that struck us most was the mood of the
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workers; they were happy, proud, and lively. It was very different from
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the mood you would see in a normal factory.
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After eating we were shown around the factory premises. This was once a
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large textile factory employing more than 1,000 workers and producing
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textiles for big name Western brands (including GAP, Banana Republic,
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Victoria's Secrets, Adidas) and exporting to
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[Australia](Commonwealth_of_Australia "wikilink"), the
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[US](United_States_of_America "wikilink"),
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[India](Republic_of_India "wikilink"), [Malaysia](Malaysia "wikilink"),
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[Germany](Federal_Republic_of_Germany "wikilink"), etc. The first
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section of the factory we visited was where the workers had gathered a
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few of the machines and where they had managed to keep production going.
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The factory had been affected by flooding, which is recurrent in this
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part of Jakarta. However, since the company owners had cut off the
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[electricity](electricity "wikilink") supply, the workers had not been
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able to use the pump to remove the water. This was a sad sight as
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hundreds of machines were lying idle in this massive warehouse with
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water knee-high. This is an example of the nature of
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[capitalism](capitalism "wikilink"): machines go unused while thousands
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of [workers have no jobs](Unemployment "wikilink").
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On the first floor we saw another section where there were machines. The
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workers told us that once they set up a union and about 100 of them
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joined SBKU-KASBI, the bosses decided that they were dangerous and
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separated them from the rest of the workers\! They were working here on
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the first floor, not in contact with the other 300 workers on the ground
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floor shop. The visit continued through the trimming area, the design
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area (where files were kept with the specifications of well known
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brands), the place where fabrics were kept and finally the directors'
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plush offices (now also flooded). In one of the offices we could see
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boxes of finished products ready to be exported to Germany.
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After the visit, a mass meeting started with the presence of the workers
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and representatives of organisations of workers,
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[students](Student "wikilink"), [alternative
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media](Alternative_Media "wikilink"), lawyers and other supporters of
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the occupation.
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The spokespersons of the Occupied Factory Committee (Kompap) told us
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their story. The factory, previously known as CV Melody, was a
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successful and profitable textile factory. The problems started when the
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workers got organised, set up the SBKU union, and started demanding
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their rights. The company resorted to terrorist methods of intimidation
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against the union leaders, seizing their ID's, locking them up in a
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room, separating union workers from the rest. But none of this broke the
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union.
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In 2007, the workers were asked to sign voluntary resignation forms,
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thus giving up their redundancy payment rights. Many of the workers were
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intimidated into signing them, but the 100 or so belonging to the union
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steadfastly refused and won their case in an industrial court. Finally,
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in July 2007, the company put up posters announcing the end of
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production and tried to lock the workers out. The workers fought back
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and found themselves [occupying the premises](Occupation "wikilink").
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Initially they were just fighting for their redundancy money, but this
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quickly escalated into a struggle for their jobs once it became clear
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that the company was not prepared to pay. They received support from the
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PRP, KASBI, and other organisations.
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The first months of the occupation were very hard. The boss used the
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security personnel to try to evict the workers by force. Once this
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failed, he sent hired thugs. But the 76 women workers and 2 male workers
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in the occupation resisted, they explained proudly. "We were all women,
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we only had two men, but we sent the thugs away", said Mosul, one of the
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Committee leaders.
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In January 2008, the company put pressure on the electricity company to
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cut off the power supply to the factory. This was a serious blow to the
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workers, since they became unable to use the machines, had no light, and
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could not pump water out of the premises during the floods. For a while
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they had to resort to using kerosene lamps. However, with help from
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supporters they managed to get a diesel power generator which now allows
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them to run the machines they were able to rescue from the flooded
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warehouse. At the same time, they are in negotiations with the union of
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the electricity workers (Serikat Pekerja PLN) to try to get reconnected
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to the power grid.
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The Factory Committee runs on a democratic basis and responds to the
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mass assembly of the workers. It was very interesting to see the
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accounts of the committee in running the factory published on the board
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for all to see and inspect. The shifts the workers had to do in
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production and security were also announced on the board. The Kompap,
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they told us, is divided into commissions dealing with the legal battle,
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propaganda, production, administration, getting orders, education and
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development, etc.
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During the occupation the workers learned about the movement of occupied
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factories in Latin America and watched both [Naomi
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Klein's](Naomi_Klein "wikilink") "[The
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Take](The_Take_\(Film\) "wikilink")" about
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[Argentina](Argentinazo "wikilink") and HOV's "No Volveran" about
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Venezuela. This generated discussions which ended with the decision to
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start production under workers' control. They managed to get a contract
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from CTM and were looking for other contracts. They proudly showed us
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the finished products they were making.
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The main thread running through their explanations was how they realised
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that the workers are strong, and how this was one of the main
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achievements of the occupation. "The workers should have power", said
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another of the occupation leaders. The Kompap had made a conscious
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effort to record all the aspects of the occupation so that this material
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could be used for the education of other workers.
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The discussion lasted for more than three hours and many issues were
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raised. The workers were keenly interested in learning about the
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practical aspects and the difficulties facing the factory occupations in
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Venezuela. They were pleasantly surprised to see that the way they had
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organised their committee was almost identical to that of workers in
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Latin America occupying factories.
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We insisted on the importance of the step they had taken, not only in
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occupying the factory, but also in starting to produce without
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[bosses](Boss "wikilink"). They had proven something very important: the
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bosses need the workers to run the factories, but the workers do not
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need the bosses\! We discussed a lot of the detailed practical problems
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they faced and suggested possible solutions. However, we insisted that
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one cannot have socialism in one factory and their struggle should be
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seen as part of the wider struggle to transform society; something which
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they were very aware of.
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The meeting ended with a spirited singing of the Internationale with all
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the workers standing and raising their fists. It was a moving moment.
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You could see in the workers' faces their sense of pride and
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achievement. They know that their struggle will not be easy and that
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they face many difficulties. However, what they have learnt in these few
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months will never be taken away from them.\[1\]
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## References
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<references />
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1. <http://www.workerscontrol.net/authors/indonesia-pt-istana-factory-occupied-and-producing-under-workers%E2%80%99-control> |