Dita fight for exploited workers<\/p>\n
A'an Suryana, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Coercion, intimidation, torture and poverty in this \"era of
\nfreedom\" still haunt the life of workers, and also the thoughts
\nof labor champion Dita Indah Sari.<\/p>\n
The reform era had merely succeeded in creating a pseudo-
\nimprovement in the situation of local workers rather than any
\ngenuine improvement in their welfare.<\/p>\n
Freedom of expression remained a right on paper only. In
\npractice, workers were still intimidated and coerced.<\/p>\n
The economic downturn since 1997 had eroded the bargaining
\npower of labor vis-a-vis employers, with the employers frequently
\nresorting to mass dismissals of workers.<\/p>\n
To deal with such challenges, a political struggle was badly
\nneeded. The workers must now pursue a political fight to get
\ntheir rights protected.<\/p>\n
According to Dita, the chairwoman of the Indonesian Workers
\nStruggle National front (FNPBI), workers must now consider
\nwidening their struggle into a formal political movement as they
\nare not well-represented in the political arena.<\/p>\n
There was no party as yet that truly fought for labor
\ninterests, while labor-based parties contesting the 1999 election
\nhad failed to convince workers to vote for them, she said.<\/p>\n
\"A strong political party for workers must be formed to guard
\nagainst extra-parliamentary movements. Experience in Latin
\nAmerica has shown that both extra- and intra-parliamentary
\nmovements are a good combination for wielding political
\ninfluence,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Despite expressing her eagerness to form a political party to
\nrepresent workers, Dita conceded that it would take time.<\/p>\n
According to Dita, the political awareness of workers was
\nstill low. Instead of voting for labor-based parties, they voted
\nfor personalities and along religious lines.<\/p>\n
\"Therefore, we are working hard today to develop the political
\nawareness of the workers so that they will eventually vote in a
\nrational way, for a political party that truly fights for their
\ninterests,\" said Dita.<\/p>\n
Dita did not provide an exact timetable, but the much-awaited
\nparty was expected to be ready to participate in the 2009
\nelectoral race.<\/p>\n
The new labor party, should it be established, should learn
\nfrom the failure of the four labor-based parties that contested
\nthe 1999 election.<\/p>\n
These were the Workers' Solidarity Party, National Labor
\nParty, All-Indonesian Workers' Solidarity Party and the
\nIndonesian Workers' Party.<\/p>\n
The new party, first of all, had to win the hearts and minds
\nof workers who were politically aware, Dita explained.<\/p>\n
Therefore, the new party would have to fight for the real
\ninterests of workers.<\/p>\n
The party's target would be to grab as many seats as possible
\nin the House of Representatives. And the ultimate target would be
\nto govern the country.<\/p>\n
Whether Dita will eventually lead the country remains to be
\nseen.<\/p>\n
However, her struggle for the welfare of workers should stand
\nto her in contesting the 2009 election.<\/p>\n
Born in Medan, North Sumatra, on Dec. 30, 1972, Dita is
\ndescribed by friends as a tough woman.<\/p>\n
Her passion for workers' issues became apparent in 1992 when
\nshe joined a leftist free study forum in her university, the
\nUniversity of Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Dita conceded that her commitment to workers rose even higher
\nthe following year when she lived with workers in North Jakarta.<\/p>\n
The grinding poverty faced by the workers in her neighborhood
\neventually encouraged her to enter the often dangerous labor
\nmovement for the betterment of workers' welfare.<\/p>\n
This commitment then pushed her to enter the political arena,
\nand she joined the People's Democratic Party (PRD) in 1994 to
\nfight for workers' interests.<\/p>\n
Her late mother Adjidar Ascha was opposed to her choice,
\nfearing that her daughter would receive harsh treatment from the
\nNew Order regime.<\/p>\n
Her fears soon came true. Dita was expelled from the Faculty
\nof Law at the University of Indonesia for joining the PRD after
\nthe government branded it a communist fellow-traveler.<\/p>\n
Despite being monitored by the then authoritarian government,
\nDita was defiant and continued her struggle to fight for workers'
\nrights.<\/p>\n
She became increasingly active in the labor movement,
\naccompanying workers on various protests.<\/p>\n
Her actions finally earned her the wrath of the New Order
\ngovernment and she received a six-year jail sentence for
\nsubversion in 1996 after she led a labor protest in the East Java
\ncapital of Surabaya.<\/p>\n
Dita spent her sentence in various women's prisons, including
\nthose in Surabaya, Malang and Tangerang, before she received a
\npardon from then president B.J. Habibie in 1999.<\/p>\n
Once out of prison, Dita resumed her activities in the labor
\nmovement, and she later became the chairwoman of the FNPBI.<\/p>\n
The sacrifices she had made on behalf of the country's workers
\nfinally bore fruit in August 2001 when she won the prestigious
\nRamon Magsaysay Award from the Philippine government in the Young
\nEmergent Leaders category.<\/p>\n
The award convinced her that her chosen path as a labor
\nactivist had been the right path to take all along.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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