Labour Unions Criticise Contract Work as Slavery and Highlight Internship Exploitation

The Deputy Chairmen of the House of Representatives (DPR RI), Saan Mustopa and Cucun Ahmad Syamsurijal, met with members of the Great Coalition of Indonesian Labour Struggle who were protesting in front of the DPR RI Building on Tuesday (29/9).

The group’s representatives were received within the parliamentary complex, where they presented several aspirations. One labour representative, Unang Sunarno, stated that the substance of the Labour Protection Bill currently being discussed in the DPR is not significantly different from the Job Creation Law.

Among the demands presented by the workers was a request to limit the contract work system. He described the current contract system as a form of slavery.

“We believe this contract work system is the root cause or the precursor to the system of slavery existing in Indonesia, particularly for our comrades in manufacturing, mining, plantations, transport, tourism, and so on. The number of permanent Indonesian workers is decreasing day by day because of this contract system,” he said.

He proposed that contract periods be limited to a maximum of one year, with a maximum of two renewals. “Regarding the duration, we see that the draft in the DPR proposes a maximum of 4 years, and Apindo (the Indonesian Employers Association) proposes a maximum of 5 years. We from the Great Coalition propose a maximum of only 1 year with 2 contracts,”

Another demand is to limit the practice of working through internship systems. He noted that recently, many workers who have been victims of layoffs have been working as interns in private companies or are being channelled through private internship programmes. In his view, this practice constitutes exploitation.

“So, it is essentially cheap labour through this internship system. Previously, we knew the internship system was for students or university undergraduates. But now, it has expanded much further. Even the government may be organising internships in certain companies or regions,” he added.

In response, Deputy Chairman of the DPR, Cucun Ahmad, stated that the House will not stop engaging in dialogue with labour groups until the Labour Protection Bill is passed. One issue highlighted by Cucun was the internship system.

“Furthermore, regarding internships, which have been exploiting the system as if seeking cheap labour. In these internships, there is no formal employment relationship, and we will also determine a time limit,” he said.