Call for Solidarity in Defending AICE Workers

Soon after I arrived from the 2nd International Automotive Conference, I started a campaign to defend 600 striking workers of AICE ice cream (PT Alpen Food Industry company) on my Twitter https://twitter.com/sherrrinn,

The workers demand wage hike based on the formula of Government Regulation on Wages, non-shift work for pregnant workers and improvement of working conditions in general. My twit about the AICE working conditions was becoming viral and trending on Twitter. As the company’s response, they made clarifications and stated that they will take criminal procedure to address our campaign.

We have negotiated on wages in 2018 and 2019, but there was non any agreement. The strike also held on 20, 21 and 23 December 2019 which is stopped by the workers to follow the mediation at the Bekasi district Labour Office. But the Labour Office decided to not hold the second and third mediations as the Ministry Regulation on Mediation. The mediator directly issued a written recommendation and only accommodate the company’s opinion. This is very unfair, so we have reported the mediator to the chief labour office, Ministry of Manpower and Ombudsman.

We consider the negotiation have failed at all, then we organised a strike again started from February 21, 2020. We also have reported the allegation of labour rights stipulations to the local Labour Inspectorate on November 2019. The examination just performed on February 17, 2020, which it made the workers have to wait for 3 months. In the waiting process, three cases of miscarriages were happening again. The inspectorate refused to meet with the pregnant workers and miscarriages workers, then the workers realised that the labour inspectorate is not neutral.

We also organised a demonstration and reported the case to the Ministry of Manpower on February 27, 2020. The company clarified to the press and held a press conference on February 28, 2020. The workers came to the press conference to make clarification as the reply of the company’s statements.

As a spokesperson of F-SEDAR, I continued to campaign on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook and disseminate our explanations and statements to the press. On March 3, 2020, the Ministry Officials examine the AICE factory since the case has gotten attention from the Minister. But, the officials refused the union leadership accompany an examining worker. They asked us to come to Ministry office the next day. So that’s why we can not trust this process.

Once again the company made an official statement by stating they will take criminal procedure against untrue statements (it means our campaign).

In Indonesia, activists are easy to be criminalised with the Electronic Information and Transactions Law of defamation. More than a hundred activists are criminalized by using this law. The maximum criminal charge is 4 years in prison, but usually only 1,5 years in reality.

I have made a statement on March 1, 2020 that I am ready to be processed by the law and I will come by myself to the police station for questioning if the company really report me. My statement got many responses from activists, friends and public who offer to defend me. I also already have lawyers.

As the retaliation against our strike, the company dismissed 600 workers by disqualifying the workers resign. Currently, I do not worry about the possibility of the defamation criminal case against me, but my concern is about the dismissed workers’ conditions.

I call you, my comrades, to give solidarity to the AICE workers. You can write a petition or short letter to protest the company and give your support to the workers.

Your solidarity letter could be sent to email addresses: sherin@fsedar.org or kolektif@fsedar.org or directly to my WhatsApp number: +62 877-8801-2740. And we will distribute the letters to the workers and the company.

Jakarta, March 7, 2020

In solidarity,

Sherin

Ps. Here is the link to inform you about the case: https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2020/03/05/factory-work-blamed-fetal-deaths.html