In some countries, especially the United Kingdom and Australia the labour movement is understood to encompass a formal "political wing", frequently known by the name labour party, which complements the aforementioned "industrial wing".
HISTORY
In Europe, the labour movement began during the industrial revolution, when agricultural jobs declined and employment moved to more industrial areas. The idea met with great resistance. In the 18th century and early 19th century, groups such as the Tolpuddle Martyrs of Tolpuddle, Dorset were punished and transported for forming unions, which was against the laws of the time.
The movement gained major impetus in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries from the Catholic Social Teaching tradition which began in 1891 with the publication of Pope Leo XIII's foundational document, Rerum Novarum, also known as "On the Condition of the Working Classes," in which he advocated a series of reforms including limits on the length of the work day, a living wage, the elimination of child labour, the rights of labour to organize, and the duty of the state to regulate labour conditions. Following the release of the document, the labour movement which had previously floundered began to flourish in Europe and later in North America
Throughout the world, action by the labour movement has led to reforms and workers' rights, such as the two-day weekend, minimum wage, paid holidays, and the achievement of the eight-hour day for many workers. There have been many important labour activists in modern history who have caused changes that were revolutionary at the time and are now regarded as basic. For example, Mary Harris Jones, better known as "Mother Jones", and the National Catholic Welfare Council were central in the campaign to end child labour in the United States during the early 20th century. An active and free labour movement is considered by many to be an important element in maintaining democracy and for economic development.
LABOUR PARTIES
Modern labour parties originated from an upsurge in organizing activities in Europe and European colonies during the 19th century, such as the Chartist movement in Britain during 1838–50.
In 1891, localised labour parties were formed, by trade union members in the British colonies of Australia. They later amalgamated to form the Australian Labor Party (ALP). In 1893, Members of Parliament in the Colony of Queensland briefly formed the world's first labour government.
The British Labour Party was created as the Labour Representation Committee, as a result of an 1899 resolution by the Trade Union Congress.
While archetypal labour parties are made of direct union representatives, in addition to members of geographical branches, some union federations or individual unions have chosen not to be represented within a labour party and/or have severed ties with them.
LABOUR AND RACIAL EQUALITY
"Negroes in the United States read the history of labor and find it mirrors their own experience. We are confronted by powerful forces telling us to rely on the good will and understanding of those who profit by exploiting us [...] They are shocked that action organizations, sit-ins, civil disobedience and protests are becoming our everyday tools, just as strikes, demonstrations and union organization became yours to insure that bargaining power genuinely existed on both sides of the table [...] Our needs are identical to labor's needs: decent wages, fair working conditions, livable housing, old age security, health and welfare measures [...] That is why the labor-hater and labor-baiter is virtually always a twin-headed creature spewing anti-Negro epithets from one mouth and anti-labor propaganda from the other mouth." – Dr. Martin Luther King, "If the Negro Wins, Labor Wins", December 11, 1961.
DEVELOPMENT OF LABOUR MOVEMENTS WITHIN NATION STATES
Historically labour markets have often been constrained by national borders that have restricted movement of workers. Labour laws are also primarily determined by individual nations or states within those nations. While there have been some efforts to adopt a set of international labour standards through the International Labour Organization (ILO), international sanctions for failing to meet such standards are very limited. In many countries labour movements have developed independently and reflect those national boundaries.
Development of an international labour movement
With ever increasing levels of international trade and rising influence of multinational corporations, there has been debate and action within the labour movement broadly to attempt international co-operation. This has led to renewed efforts to organize and collectively bargain internationally. A number of international union organizations have been established in an attempt to facilitate international collective bargaining, to share information and resources and to advance the interests of workers generally.
History in Indonesia
- Republic of Indonesia to defend trade union policy at ILO meeting
- From Jakarta Post, 5 April, 1995. Indonesia feels that the imposition of a western definition of freedom of association versus the officially sanctioned All Indonesian Workers Union (SPSI) will prove divisive for labor and politically disruptive [under semi-feudal conditions, diversity is subsumed under an ideal order dominated by the ruling class].
- Petition on Indonesian worker rights to the U.S. trade representative
- From Human Rights Watch/Asia. 14 June, 1995. Human Rights Watch/Asia petitions United States Trade Representative (USTR) to resume its review of labor practices in Indonesia. Recent labor history reviewed: the SPSI government union as sole organization above plant level; military intervention in labor disputes; forced labor; CB at plant level.
- Direct questioning forbidden in Pakpahan subversion trial
- From the Jakarta Post, 24 January, 1997. Muchtar Pakpahan is chair of the independent labor confederation, the Indonesian Prosperous Labor Union (SBSI), and is charged with making anti-government and anti-President Soehato statements 1995 and 1996.
- Walking Ghosts Who Work in Satan's factory
- Press release from Community Aid Abroad in Australia, 4 April, 1997. Re working conditions in Nike's Indonesian shoe factory.
- Satan's factory: Nike attacked by researcher
- By Gordon Feeney, in The Sydney Morning Herald, 4 April 1997. Re working conditions in Nike's Indonesian shoe factory.
- Massive protest by Indonesian Nike workers turns violent
- Agence France-Presse. 26 April, 1997. Low wages, nogotiation difficulties, and police repression. Rise in number of strikes in Indonesia since last year.
- Despite beatings, prison: Young leaders revive Indonesian workers' movement
- By Deirdre Griswold, in Workers World, 8 May, 1997. Mounting strikes and protests. Connections with People's Democratic Party (PRD) - the first working-class party since the coup of 1965. The opposition Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) not directly involved, but members arrested for "defamation," etc.
- Oppose New Indonesian Manpower Bill
- From APEC Labour Rights Monitor (ALARM). 1 July, 1997. The Manpower Bill to be submitted June 16, 1997, would worsen the situation in Indonesia for labor and weaken it in the face of globalization. It reflects the recent anti-labor moves in South Korea and Australia to destroy collective rights and will contribute to decline in working conditions globally.
- Anti-Union Repression in Indonesia
- From ICFTU OnLine, 23 September, 1997. Arrests of trade unionists for striking or demonstrating continues. Re National Committee for the Fight for Democracy demo and Nike code.
- SBSI Congress Disrupted by Police: International Observers Play a Role in Gaining Release of Those Arrested
- By Tony P Wohlfarth, CAW Research Department. 26 September, 1997. on 19 September, the 2nd Congress of the SBSI, the Indonesian Prosperity Trade Union, the unofficial and independent union confederation in Indonesia, whose leader Muchtar Pakpahan, is emprisoned for "treason," was closed down by police.
- Anti-worker Manpower Bill to become law on October 1, 1998
- From AMRC. 13 October, 1997. The draft of the Manpower Bill was approved 11 September, 1997, despite protests and will go into effect 1 October, 1998. Here an effort to delay and reconsider. I.a., re split in the government's All Indonesian Workers Union (FSPSI) between leadership and rank-and-file over the Bill.
0 komentar:
Post a Comment