Trade Union Politics and Elections in Post-Authoritarian Indonesia Nawawi Submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Leeds School of Politics and International Studies September, 2019 ii The candidate confirms that the work submitted is his own and that appropriate credit has been given where reference has been made to the work of others. This copy has been supplied on the understanding that it is copyright material and that no quotation from the thesis may be published without proper acknowledgement. © 2019 The University of Leeds and Nawawi iii Acknowledgments This thesis could not have been completed without the support of many people and organisations. First and foremost, my sincere gratitude must go to all those interviewed for this thesis who patiently answered my questions and made my research in the field possible. My sincere thanks also go to my supervisors, Hugh Dyer and Adam Tyson, who encouraged me to think in new ways with their critical and constructive ideas, comments and suggestions and the challenging questions raised in every supervision meeting, which all contributed significantly to make this thesis as it is now. I would like to formally thank the Ministry of Research, Technology and Higher Education (Ristekdikti) and the World Bank for funding my study and the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) for giving permission for my temporary leave to study abroad. I also wish to acknowledge my POLIS friends and officemates who have endured the same PhD process and set aside time for me - Binh Trinh, Petra Desatova, Ben Former, Alex Prior, Daniel Poprdan, Jack Newman, Rungchai Yensabai, Zain Maulana and Turgey Demir- and also Matthew Wilkinson and Jane Love for all of their help. My special thanks are extended to Indonesian students in Leeds who made me feel at home, notably Pak Agung, Pak Mukrim, Pak Jumadi, Pak Brahma, Pak Faridh, Pak Munajat, Pak Arief, Pak Avicenna, Pak Bekti, Mas Taufiq, Mas Dodi, Mas MY, Mas Arizka, Mbak Cesa and Mbak Lusi. From Jakarta and LIPI, I would like to thank Puji Hartana for his support providing data from KPU, Haning Romdiati and Titik Handayani who provided material support in the initial process of my study and my fellow researchers at the Department of Labour Studies P2K LIPI who encouraged me to complete this thesis. Last, but not least, my immeasurable gratitude and grateful appreciation also go to my beloved parents, Asmat and Sawina, for their continuous support, attention and prayers for the completion of my study. My truly grateful and prayers are always with my dearest parents in law, Hasan Basri and Farina, as well as my beloved aunts, Kholifah, Kholilah and Bulek Nik, and my grandmother, Bonisah, who all passed away in the course of my study. Most of all, finally, I am really grateful for the greatest support and understanding of my beloved wife - Endang Sri Wahyuni- who endured my enthusiasms and despairs during thesis writing, and to my beloved children- Muhammad Alief Reefandi, Syauqina Izzati and Avicenna Erbandi who always cheered me up throughout my long PhD journey. iv Abstract Political reforms since 1998 changed the ways in which Indonesian trade unions are organised and operate, as well as the extent to which unions have developed their political strategies to compete in legislative elections. Trade unions were controlled and depoliticised for almost 32 years under Suharto’s authoritarian New Order regime. They have since re-emerged in the post- 1998 democratisation era, following an alteration in the political policies that were used to curb the political freedom and independence of the labour movement. This thesis provides new insights into the political dynamics of trade union politics in post-authoritarian Indonesia, with consideration given to the changing roles and positions of trade unions toward electoral politics, and the ways in which union elites are vying for power and mobilising organisational resources. The thesis also questions the impact of the unions’ new political roles in policy-making. Empirical data for this thesis is gathered from in-depth interviews involving trade unionists, union legislative candidates, politicians, union members and workers, as well as from direct observation of union political activities during field research in the districts of Bekasi and Serang and the city of Medan. The core chapters of this thesis find that the process of union engagement in electoral politics is evolving. Unions have endeavoured to overcome their lack of financial resources by developing their organisational capacity and strategically channelling resources into election campaigns. Unions are learning from their failure of previous elections, giving rise to new political identities and interests, and using their roles in parliament to influence policy-making. In response to the complex structural and organisational constrains that exist, however, a more consolidated movement, a strong, programmatic and sustained political alliance with well- established parties, and enhancing worker understandings of their political identity and strategic role in elections are crucial to determine the success of union electoral engagement in post-authoritarian Indonesia. In developing these arguments, this thesis offers a way forward for a better understanding on the varied possibilities for, and limitations of, union electoral engagement and explicates the prospect of political unionism in the Indonesia’s future democracy. v Table of Contents Acknowledgements Abstract Table of Contents Abbreviations List of Tables Chapter 1: Introduction 1 A Brief History of Indonesian Trade Unions 6 The Return of Political Unionism 10 Trade Unions Politics 14 Research Questions 17 Operationalising the Concept of Trade Union Electoral Engagement 18 Research Methodology 24 Structure of the Thesis 30 Chapter 2: Trade Union Politics in Post-1998 Indonesia 32 Introduction 32 The Context: Post-Authoritarian Trade Union Politics 33 Trade Union in the Ousting of Suharto 41 Labour Laws Reform and Organised Unions 44 Electoral Reforms and Political Unionism 52 Conclusion 63 Chapter 3: Trade Union Electoral Legitimacy 65 Introduction 65 Post-1998 Indonesian Trade Unions: Characteristics and Political Orientation 67 Union Justification to Engage in Electoral Politics 76 Union Candidates and the Question of Motives 84 Conclusion 96 Chapter 4: Trade Union Electoral Strategy 98 Introduction 98 The Labour Go Politics Movement in Bekasi 101 The Labour Vote Labour Movement in Serang 116 Individual Partnerships with Political Parties 122 Implication for Trade Union Politics 128 Conclusion 132 vi Chapter 5: Structural and Organisational Constrains 134 Introduction 134 Corrupt Practices and Material Inequalities 136 The Union-Party Alliance 147 Union Fragmentation and Elites Factionalism 156 Union Membership and Workers’ Political Identity 162 Conclusion 170 Chapter 6: Union’s Political Role in Local Parliaments 173 Introduction 173 Struggle in the Formation of Local Labour Regulation 175 Representing the Interests of Workers 185 Implication for Trade Union Politics 192 Conclusion 194 Chapter 7: Conclusion 196 Unions’ Electoral Legitimacy: A Question of Motives 198 Unions’ Electoral Strategies and Constraints 200 Unions’ Political Roles in Policy-making 203 Implication for Trade Union Politics and the Future of Union Electoral Engagement 204 Original Scholarly Contribution 206 Wider Relevance and Contributions beyond Indonesia 209 Bibliography Appendix A: Composition of In-depth Interviewees Appendix B: Direct Observations Appendix C: List of Interviewees vii Abbreviations ASBS Serang’s Trade Unions Alliance BTI Indonesian Peasant’s Front DPD Regional Leadership Council DPP Central Leadership Council DPR People Representative Council DPRD District People’s Regional Representative Council FKTU Federation of Korea Trade Unions FNPBI National Front for Indonesian Worker’s Struggle FSBS Serang’s Labour Solidarity Forum FSPMI Federation of Indonesian Metal Workers’ Union ILO International Labour Organisation IMF International Monetary Fund KAJS Social Security Action Committee KSPSI Confederation of All Indonesian Workers’ Unions KSBSI Indonesian Prosperous Workers’ Unions KPU General Electoral Commission KPPOD Monitoring Committee for the Implementation of Regional Autonomy KSPI Confederation of Indonesian Trade Unions LIPI Indonesian Institute of Sciences LIPS Sedane Institute for Labour Information NGO Non-Government Organisation NU Nahdatul Ulama PAN National Mandatory Party PBN National Labour Party PBSD Social Democratic Labour Party PDIP Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle PKB National Awakening Party PKI Indonesian Communist Party PKS Prosperous Justice Party PPI Indonesian Workers Party. PRD People’s Democratic Party PSP Workers Solidarity Party viii PSPSI All-Indonesian Workers’ Solidarity Party SBMI Medan’s Independent Trade Union SBSI Indonesian Prosperous Workers’ Union SOBSI All-Indonesian Central Workers’ Organisation SPAI Various Industry Workers’ Union SPN National Trade Union SPSI All-Indonesian Workers’ Union ix Tables Table 2.1: Labour-related Parties’ Vote Gains in the 1999, 2004, and 2009 Legislative Elections 59 Table 2.2: Union Legislative Candidates in National and Provincial Levels in the 2014 Legislative Elections 61 Table 3.1: Trade Union Elite Legislative Candidates 89 Table 4.1: The 2014 Election Result for Nine FSPMI Candidates under the Labour Go Politics Movement in Bekasi, West Java Province 113