As recent events have shown, over the last few years Indonesia's labor unions have developed into a new form of people power. They have become more organized, militant, financially independent and stronger. In the process, they are presenting a greater challenge for government and the corporate sector

In 2012, the number of protests and strikes seemed to rise markedly. In October, the country witnessed its first national strike, involving approximately three million workers in 24 districts and 80 industrial estates. The workers were demanding a rise in the minimum wage and an end to the use of contract workers what is referred to as outsourcing in Indonesia.

The unions say the minimum wage in Indonesia is one of the lowest in the region at Rp 1.1 million a month, despite the country having the largest economy in Southeast Asia and one of the fastest growing in the world. Outsourcing, they say, prevents the hiring of permanent workers and weakens the power of the labor force.

Following the protests a steep rise was ordered in the politically sensitive minimum wage by as much as 40 percent in Jakarta. While investors have said the rise is too steep and could harm the business climate, the unions see it as a significant victory.

Celebrating victory

Employers called the October work stoppage risky and expensive. Hasanuddin Rahman of the Indonesian Employers Association (APINDO) said the four-day dispute caused at least Rp1 trillion in losses.

Following the general strike, APINDO secretary general Suryadi Sasmita criticized the strike, saying militant labor is hurting the investment climate to the benefit of neighboring countries.

Suryadi said the unions are too-quickly bypassing negotiations in tripartite forums involving government, labor and business in favor of street actions and power plays.

Demonstrations should only be pursued if the [tripartite] forum does not yield any deal, Suryadi said, according to the Jakarta Globe. What happens now is that unions often go immediately into demonstrations, which can disturb operations.

For labor, the strike was a major success. The national strike showed us that the workers movement has reached new heights, said Ilhamsyah of the Indonesian Port Transportation Labor Union (SBTPI), celebrating the movement's new-found power.

Unions here have undergone a rapid transformation over the fourteen years since the authoritarian New Order era ended. Where once a single official labor union, the Indonesian Workers Union (SPSI), which was controlled by former President Suharto, purported to represent labor there are now literally thousands of unions.

According to Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration figures, there are now six registered national confederations of workers, 91 national-level unions and more than 45,000 regional and sectoral unions.

As with the explosion of organizations and NGOs in all sectors during the reform period, the fall of Suharto in 1998 was the key event. Labor activist Mukhtar Pakpahan promptly formed the Indonesia Prosperous Trade Union (SBSI), and within months the one-union system was abolished and workers were free to organize themselves.

The old SPSI itself split into two organizations, SPSI and SPSI-Reformasi, and over time the two organizations gave birth to many new workers' bodies. The roots of today's key labor organizations ‘ the Confederation of Indonesian Workers Unions (KSPSI), Confederation of Indonesian Workers Trade Unions (KSPI) and The Confederation of Indonesian Prosperous Labor Unions (KSBSI) all reach back to the SPSI.

Changing the Game

Under Suharto, the SPSI used conventional modes of negotiation and discussion in line with the priorities of a government that did not tolerate unrest. For the group's younger and more radical members, these tactics were ineffective and undemocratic.

The young members were questioning the role of the SPSI. We believed that a union should be more progressive in its aspirations, said Said Iqbal, an ex-SPSI member who is now president of the KSPI.

Unions should be led by the workers, not by politicians, he added.

But pre-1998 there was little the frustrated activists could do. The degree of freedom was very low, due to the military's repression of protesting workers, said Iqbal.

By the beginning of this millennium, Indonesia's unions were largely local in nature, and not particularly radical. But this changed in 2006 when the Aliansi Buruh Menggugat (ABM) achieved a significant victory through strikes and mass protests.

The ABM, an alliance of several unions, successfully challenged the government's plan to revise Manpower Law 13/2003, which dealt with outsourcing jobs to labor contractors for a fixed period in lieu of hiring permanent workers. It did not end the system but it served notice that workers would fight any expansion of the practice

In 2009, workers claimed another key victory, again through strikes and mass protests, when several unions allied themselves with the Social Security Action Committee (KAJS), which was campaigning for comprehensive social security. The actions helped pressure the government into pledging to improve the existing social security law.

These two victories emboldened the unions, and inspired organized labor to see the streets as the best place to fight for their rights.

Mass action actually helps us build more power, said Ilhamsyah.

Workers eventually realized that no one will help them, not even the manpower ministry. They realize now that if they want to change their fate, they have to fight for it.

Along with growing confidence inside the labor movement, new tactics and strategies have developed to push the movement's agenda.

In 2011, the movement's push to abolish outsourcing took a more direct path in Bekasi. Using a tactic called gerebek pabrik, or factory incursion, the unions target specific companies, massing hundreds of workers outside a factory's gates to check the employment status of contract workers as they come and go. The tactic is designed to intimidate companies the unions say are violating various aspects of outsourcing rules, including duration of contracts, work performed and other terms.

If the activists find a violation, they report the company or try to get the workers permanent employment status. According to Ilhamsyah, since 2011, more than 60,000 contract workers have been granted permanent employment status as a result of the actions, which have spread to other areas such as Batam, Surabaya, Jakarta and Tangerang.

Training and education

Last year's four day general strike surprised many observers, added to the list of issues making investors nervous in Indonesia and also proved that Indonesia's unions have become a major power to be reckoned with.

It has been a long process, say organizers.

To energize such a massive number of people, you need to be sure that they understand what this movement is all about, said Iqbal.

We don't push people; they have to understand the problems themselves.

The unions do this through extensive training and research. Labor centers have been established in Bekasi, with classes on economics, politics, capitalism and neo-liberalism taught twice a week. Leadership and mass action strategies are also taught, and there are clear divisions of roles among the workers.

Those who have the most courage lead the front line [during a rally]. No ordinary person should walk on the front line, said Rozik of SBTPI.

Organizers say that the training has helped them deal with notorious premen, or hired thugs, who have in the past ransacked worker centers and disrupted protests.

Financial independence is another important requirement for the unions. Organizing strikes and rallies is not cheap. Consider bus rental ‘ one bus costs about Rp 1.5 million alone, and one event in Jakarta requires hundreds of buses.

But almost all major unions are now financially independent. A large organization such as the Forum of Metal Workers (FSPMI) can collect around Rp 10 billion per year from members.

Given rising organizational competency wedded to more militancy, businesses in Indonesia can expect more strikes and rallies.

Workers have become well trained. They are now used to mass action and they will find better and more efficient methods along the way, said Ilhamsyah.