Employees Form Kopkar Forindo to Maintain Balance in Logistics Industry
A group of employees and officers working daily to maintain the national logistics chain have formed the Forwarder Indonesia Employee Cooperative (Kopkar Forindo) to protect workers’ rights and obligations amidst the dynamics of the logistics industry.
Kopkar Forindo General Chairman Muhajir stated in Jakarta on Friday that the cooperative is a shared economic platform designed to strengthen social, economic, and professional protection for workers in the national freight forwarding and logistics sector.
He explained that the cooperative was not formed to confront companies or employer associations. Instead, it aims to maintain balance within the industrial ecosystem so that the relationship between companies and workers can proceed in a healthy, fair, and sustainable manner.
“Because Kopkar Forindo is present not as a tool of conflict, but as a bridge of balance,” Muhajir said.
According to him, the freight forwarding or third-party logistics industry in Indonesia is currently undergoing significant changes. These changes range from regulatory shifts and logistics digitalisation to global competition and adjustments to the 2025 Indonesian Standard Industrial Classification (KBLI), demanding that all industry players become more adaptive.
On the other hand, workers also need a platform that can help them face the various economic and social risks arising from these dynamics.
Muhajir explained that Kopkar Forindo is designed as a professional cooperative that brings together workers from various companies engaged in Freight Forwarding Services (JPT).
Unlike conventional cooperatives that focus solely on savings and loans, Kopkar Forindo has a broader vision. According to him, the cooperative is designed to build a member solidarity fund, legal aid programmes, emergency assistance for members affected by company issues, as well as members’ children’s education programmes, logistics professional training, competency certification, and productive business development for workers’ families.
“We want to build a shared home for Indonesian logistics workers. When the company grows, workers grow with it. When the company faces challenges, workers are not left to walk alone. That is where the cooperative must be present as a social and economic safety net,” he said.
He added that Kopkar Forindo aims to establish a digitally connected network of freight forwarding worker cooperatives across Indonesia, so that members from Aceh to Papua can receive the same benefits without being hindered by geographical distance.
“For many logistics workers, the birth of Kopkar Forindo is not just about forming a new cooperative, but about building a sense of security, solidarity, and a more certain future for the workers who have been the main drivers of the national supply chain,” he said.