Labour split over candidate choice in Indonesia

It was once an unruly force to be reckoned with, blocking toll roads and urging masses to walk off jobs, causing crippling industrial standstills.

But in the past months, the labour movement seems a shadow of its former self due to a split between the two largest labour confederations over which presidential candidate to support.

Mr Said Iqbal, who leads some six million labourers under KSPI, supports former general Prabowo Subianto, while Mr Andi Gani Nena Wea, who leads a similar number of labourers under KSPSI, says Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo is the man to back.

"The labour camp is split and it has been a divisive campaign, but these labourers need to understand that the new government will not be able to fulfil all election promises because it really depends on the quality of its new ministers," former state enterprises minister Sofyan Djalil told The Straits Times.

The two camps have called for their members to pledge support along their organisations' lines and have organised mass demonstrations of support. Though their members have been seen in uniform openly supporting their preferred candidates, it remains unclear if this translates into votes.

A survey by Poltracking Institute released on Sunday showed labourers were almost evenly split - with 44.9 per cent backing Mr Prabowo and 44.1 per cent backing Mr Joko, and the remaining undecided.

Rivalry between the two camps has intensified, raising concerns among businessmen of mass demonstrations or violence by supporters of the losing candidate after the presidential election on July 9.

There are also fears that the incoming president could cave in to pressures to implement populist measures to appease labour unions. Last Friday, some 100 members of KSPI arrived in Jakarta after a four-day "long march" route of nearly 300km from Bandung, West Java, in a show of solidarity for Mr Prabowo.

On the other side of the ring, Mr Andi Gani's KSPSI members have donned matching T-shirts bearing Mr Joko's face and engaged in social work across provinces in Jakarta to promote their presidential pick.

The rift in the labour movement began in the middle of last year, when Mr Prabowo was invited to speak at a labour conference organised by Mr Said's KSPI in central Jakarta. "He shares our 10-point demands for better worker welfare," said Mr Said, adding that he has tried meeting Mr Joko thrice but was unsuccessful.

Among other things, Mr Said wants an end to outsourcing and a wage rise of 30 per cent next year. "Mr Prabowo has always openly said he wants to champion the rights of the small people like farmers and underpaid workers."

KSPI is gathering 100,000 members to rally at Gelora Bung Karno stadium on Saturday. Two days later, it is planning simultaneous declarations of support by groups of its union members across 15 provinces.

Mr Andi Gani, who is also a member of the Indonesian Democratic Party - Struggle that supports Mr Joko's presidential bid, says the latter's vision of providing free basic health care and education resonates with his members. Though Mr Joko raised labourers' wages for this year by only 11 per cent, after signing off on a 45 per cent wage hike for last year, Mr Andi Gani thinks this is a "reasonable move".

"In our discussions, (Mr Joko) has shown us he is a man of reason and listens before acting, so we prefer that than a leader who is the opposite," he added.

While labour union leaders say they have urged their members to remain peaceful even if their choice candidate loses, employer federations have blasted this split in support, saying labour groups should not be politicised.

Mr Azhar Lubis, deputy chairman of investment monitoring and implementation at the Indonesia Investment Coordinating Board, warns candidates that dealing with labour unions is likely to be the first major test the winner faces once he is sworn into office in October.

"Negotiations over raising minimum wage will crop up in October and have to be settled by November," he said during a discussion with foreign correspondents on Indonesia's economy last week.

"There is no time for rest for the next government... it has to look at raising productivity of labourers because a wage increase without a rise in productivity conflicts with private sector interests."

zubaidah@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on June 18, 2014.
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