TEMPO.CO, Surabaya - During a national congress held in Surabaya the Indonesian Metal Workers Federation (FSPMI) declared that it would form a political party for Indonesian labors.
“There are three stages to go through, namely citizen education, mass organization and political party establishment,” FSPMI president Said Iqbal told Tempo on the sidelines of the closing ceremony of the congress on Wednesday, February 10, 2016.
Said added that the three stages were important for the labor union in order to gather political power. In developed countries, Said revealed, labor unions worked with political parties to discuss salary, working system and social security.
However, Said mentioned that the FSPMI would carry a slogan of “Independent but Nut Netral,” which means that labors would not be used by political parties who were not supporting labors yet.
“So, when a general election is held, labors will be consolidated to vote an alternative political party,” Said added.
Said explained that the political education for labors would be conducted after the Confederation of Indonesian Workers Union (KSPI) congress in 2017. Said revealed that it would be possible for the labor party to participate in the 2019 Presidential Election.
Said claimed that a political party for labors must be established, since no political parties would listen to their aspirations.
“We realize that government policies, such as salary and social security, are made by elite politicians,” the East Java branch of FSPMI secretary Jazuli said.
Jazuli added that leaders of political parties would not support labors since they were not born by working class people.
The FSPMI claimed that at least 230,000 members of labor unions across the country had urged to establish a political party since the national leaders meeting held in three years ago.
“It’s time for labors to be heard, because we have not only been focusing on labor issues, but also those related to public, such as health and education,” Jazuli said, adding that more than 40 percent of the country’s population were labors in the formal sector.
ARTIKA RACHMI FARMITA