By Becky Ellis
[Becky Ellis is a Marxist feminist and a member of the Resistance Collective (Canada)]
All around the world, especially
the first world, governments and corporations sing the praises of globalization.
New trade agreements and governmental pacts seem to be declared constantly, each
one aimed at increasing the profits for global capital.
All of these agreements and pacts are at the expense of human rights, the
environment, workers rights, democracy, and women's rights. People around the
world are growing more and more angry at the effects of globalization as can be
seen by the mass demonstrations in Seattle in November of 1999.
Women all over the world have suffered the most from globalization. In the
advanced capitalist countries, vicious cuts to child care, women's shelters,
social assistance, and health care have drastically impacted upon the lives of
women. Throughout the world, women and their children make up about 80% of the
world's poor.
Indonesia is a country that has been drastically affected by global
capitalism. It is a country that for thirty years was run by the US-backed
dictator Suharto, who was forced to quit due to militant mass action. Currently,
Indonesia is one of the poorest countries in the world after the meltdown of its
economy in 1997/1998.
The effects of poverty and globalization are clear in Indonesia-especially on
the lives of women workers. In Indonesia, as in many countries throughout the
world, corporations have set up free-trade zones where sweatshops operate with
little regard for human rights. The following article details the conditions for
women working in these sweatshops in Indonesia.
Indonesian women are concentrated in manufacturing, agriculture, trades and
services, and make up 70-80% of the textile and garment industry. Official
government policy holds that women are already emancipated. However, women do
not have full status in society until they are married, and it is state policy
that marriage and motherhood are the only acceptable roles for women. The ideal
woman worker, according to a well-known saying in Indonesia, is "takut dan
malu" or "fearful and shy".
Because of a large number of rural families that have been pushed off their
land by the military to make way for private developments, and a sharp downturn
in available work in agriculture, young rural women flock to the cities seeking
jobs.
These women are considered the best workers and are hired by the large
factories for their manual dexterity, supposed tolerance for monotonous tasks
and greater obedience than women from urban areas. The majority of women factory
workers in Indonesia are under 25 years old, single and poorly educated.
Working conditions
Textile and garment industry workers receive very low wages. The minimum wage
is Rp5200 (US$2) per day. The government estimates that the minimum daily amount
required to meet basic needs is Rp6200, but this figure is based on the lowest
of living standards.
Many employers do not pay even the minimum wage, and women workers are paid
less than the men in most industries.
A 1989 study of a range of factories in north Jakarta found that 72.55% of
workers were paid below the minimum wage. Many companies get away with this by
bribing government officials. It has been estimated that 2-10% of production
costs is paid in wages, while 30% is paid in bribes.
Women's usual working conditions include long hours, abusive environments,
unhealthy conditions and restrictions on the right to organize.
A recent study at a Bandung textile and garment factory found that the
workers worked 12-14 hours each day. Another study of a Nike factory in Java
found that women workers were permitted to have only two days off a month. In
many factories, overtime is compulsory and paid erratically.
By law, workers are entitled to sick, religious, holiday, menstrual and
pregnancy leave. In reality, they are rarely permitted to take any leave, and
those who persist in doing so are fired. According to reports on Nike factories
in Java, workers who are too ill to work are required to spend the day resting
in the factory's mosque.
Workers often have money deducted from their wages for things such as fabric
flaws and broken needles. At a shrimp paste factory in Java, the workers have to
pay Rp50 for the "privilege" of washing the smell of shrimp paste off
their hands.
Verbal, physical and sexual abuse are commonplace. A former supervisor at a
Nike factory reported that he was trained to yell "Fuck you" and
"Move, hurry, you stupid bitch" at the women workers.
Other reports of abuse include supervisors at a shoe factory hitting women
workers on their behinds with the out-soles of shoes when they slowed, workers
being punished at many factories by being made to run laps around the building,
and at several Nike factories, women workers being forced by supervisors to run
between their various work sites.
Industrial accidents are also commonplace. A company nurse told researchers that he regularly threw fingers out in the trash heap. In one factory, a 22-year-old woman was scalped when her hair caught on a conveyor belt. Workers rarely receive compensation, and when they do, it does not cover medical expenses.
Overcrowding
The workers' low wages means that they also live in very poor conditions.
Some factories provide accommodation for their workers, usually housing
compounds consisting of large brick buildings which are severely overcrowded. At
one Nike housing compound, each room houses 12 women. Each room contains six
bunk beds and virtually no walking space.
It is common for workers' quarters to have only one or two toilets for 50 to
100 residents. Water is scarce in these quarters, and workers are often forced
to buy expensive bottled water. A study of women workers in Malang found that
68% had no washing facilities or running water at home.
Not surprisingly, the health of women workers is generally very poor.
Ailments commonly reported by women textile workers include iron deficiency
anemia, depression, chronic tinnitus, occupational bronchitis, menstrual
disorders, muscle strain disorders and hearing loss.
One survey estimated that 40.3% of women workers in Jakarta have iron
deficiency anemia, 30% are infected with intestinal parasites and 88% are
malnourished.
There is also mounting evidence that life-threatening disorders are being
contracted at work. One study at a textile factory in Bandung revealed that some
of the dye workers had bladder cancer, which has been linked to the carcinogens
present in locally used dyestuffs.
Women have been at the forefront of struggles for workers' rights in
Indonesia. Strikes in all industries have increased substantially over the past
decade (in 1994, there were 1130 strikes), and there are numerous examples of
the integral role of women in these protests.
Workers who take up the struggle are regularly intimidated, harassed and
abused by the military, and are often sacked. In 1993, a woman named Marsinah
who organised a strike at her textile factory was found floating, murdered, in a
river near the factory.
In 1998, during the mass mobilizations, the Indonesian "government" finally made trade unions legal. Many women have joined the fight for worker's rights. One of the most notable feminists and trade union activists in Indonesia is Dita Sari. Sari is a former political prisoner who is now the chairperson of the Indonesian Popular Front for Labour Struggle. Many women have also joined the struggle for revolutionary change in Indonesia. International solidarity with women who work in sweatshops and in labour struggles is imperative. Throughout North America, a campaign against sweatshops has been growing as part of a larger movement against globalization. Through international solidarity, women's and workers' rights will win over the interests of private greed.
