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More
info on this case
May 10th 2001, Update and action request on Ngadinah
case
Dear Friends,
Please find below more information on the case of Ngadinah, the
imprisoned union activist, provided by SISBIKUM.
A statement presented at the May 10th press conference
on her case follows below, as well as a report
from the Jakarta Post on the case.
SISBIKUM extends their thanks for all the support that Ngadinah
has received and is requesting that this case be raised during
the ILO session to be held in June 2001. For further information
or clarification, please contact SISBIKUM.
Also included in this update is an action appeal
and background on the case (including the response
from Adidas), compilied by Tim Connor.
STATEMENT OF THE PRESS CONFERENCE FEDERATION OF INDEPENDENT
TRADE UNION AND ADVISOR LAW TEAM ON NGADINAH CASE (Jakarta, May
10th 2001)
At this time the criminal towards case of the labor should back
we see, especially by Ngadinah case which its case is being taken
into the court. Criminalization of trade union activists at factory
categorized as criminal act with trying to find false in the civil
code is one form of the violence's and the way to stop workers rights.
In thinking over this criminalize labor especially Ngadinah's case,
GSBI states and demand several things as below:
1. Ngadinah's case and criminalize activist of whole Indonesia
must an agenda of the ILO plenary on 5 - 12 June 2001.
- For this ILO agenda, representative (delegation of Indonesia)
must suggest in order Ngadinah's issue becomes one of the ILO
agenda. The agenda mentioned based on context of freedom of association
in Indonesia which back to be continued to the criminalization
activist's activities/leader of trade union.
- Ngadinah is the representative of activist/labor's leader of
the trade unions in Indonesia, now become accusation. So the ILO
plenary should improve their responsibility in observing and ensuring
realization of the ILO Convention (ILO Convention No. 87 and 98).
- In support that appeal GSBI also will ask the support of the
trade unions in the world, among other participants are ICFTU,
WCL, AFLCIO, is in order those trade unions ask each other country
to suggest Ngadinah's case become one of the additional agenda
in ILO plenary on next June 2001.
- This appeal still suggest to the groups of the society, NGO
and several foundation/institutions in order together or vice
versa to do campaign "Clean condition on all production's
process" like Clean Clothes Campaign in Europe.
2. To urge the government particular Minister of Manpower and transmigration
to be as soon as possible to form and to employee the investigation
team for the violation case of freedom of association (UU No. 21
Tahun 200/National Law No. 21 of 2000). As the beginning work, GSBI
urge the government so that mentioned team starts their tasks toward
the violation cases of the freedom of association such as:
- PT Panarub - Tangerang
- PT Citra Abadi Sejati - Cileungsi, Bogor
- PT Sandrafine - Tangerang
3. So that Adidas enterprise as a license giver toward business
of the factories which its goods (Adidas mark) which produced by
PT Panarub Co. Ltd. (as contractor toward who hold Adidas license
in Indonesia) immediately gives responds toward Ngadinah's case
and PT Panarub Co. Ltd.
Those respond are better announced by mass media (print, electronic,
and internet). It is purposed to result PT Panarub Co. Ltd and several
business which hold contract product of Adidas joint to obey "code
of conduct" Adidas.
If this appeal will not get attention or serious respond, GSBI
will do several forms of opposite acts toward Adidas business, for
example to call boycott Adidas.
4. State/government which in this case is institutions:
- a. Indonesian police/Indonesian military
- b. Attorney General
- c. Minister of Manpower and transmigration
So that suddenly to improve the observation's and prevention system
of the collusion coming in the business with all law officials which
later intend to hamper the freedom of association. This problem
in the old time became general impression as how felt on Ngadinah's
case in order to investigate.
Related to the things above, GSBI urge in order:
- a. Indonesian Police and military consistent not to interfere
labor case with various acts.
- b. Optimalization function and role of the internal observation
institutions in each institutions.
- c. Extending of working area "national ombudsman and committee
of observer the wealth of state officials" to the area of
labor in whole Indonesia.
It is enough press conference of GSBI and law advisor team on Ngadinah's
case.
Jakarta, May 10th 2001
Yours faithfully,
Bandung Eko Saputro Rudy H. Arist Merdeka Sirait
Chairman of GSBI General Secretary Law Advisor Team
The Jakarta Post, Friday, May 11, 2001
Union vows to take Adidas's case to ILO
JAKARTA (JP):
The Federation of Independent Trade Union (GSBI) condemned on Thursday
the arrest and trial of a labor activist and vowed to take the case
to an International Labor Organization (ILO) session in Geneva in
June.
Ngadinah, 29, a worker of PT Panarub, which holds a manufacturing
license from Adidas, is being tried at Tangerang District Court
on charges of inciting people to resist public authority and unpleasant
treatment toward people. The latter charge relates to Ngadinah's
relationship with company management.
Ngadinah is a representative of workers activists throughout Indonesia
who struggle for workers' rights, GSBI chairman Bandung Eko Saputro
said.
He compared Ngadinah with Marsinah, a labor activist in East Java
who was found dead on May 8, 1993, three days after staging a demonstration
demanding welfare improvements for workers.
Bandung said GSBI was also seeking the support of international
labor unions in taking Ngadinah's case to the ILO session.
He said GSBI also urged the government to immediately establish
and assign a special team to investigate violations against workers'
freedom of association.
He said that such violations had occurred, not only PT Panarub,
but also in several other companies, including PT Sandrafine Garments
in Tangerang and at PT Citra Abadi Sejati in Cileungsi, Bogor.
GSBI also appealed for Adidas to respond to Ngadinah's case and
order all companies which hold its licenses to comply with the demand.
Ngadinah, who is a general secretary of the shoe factory's trade
union, has been detained at the Tangerang women's penitentiary since
April 23.
She was arrested following a complaint by PT Panarub executive
Slamet Supriyadi, who told police that Ngadinah was the mastermind
of massive strikes conducted by 8,000 workers at the company's compound
in Tangerang between September 8 - 11 last year. He claimed the
strikes had caused Rp 500 million in losses to the company.
Ngadinah's lawyer, Arist Merdeka Sirait, said the striking workers
demanded that PT Panarub abide by the minister of manpower and transmigration's
regulation on workers' rights, granting health family and meal allowances
for workers.
ACTION REQUEST!!!!!!!!
UNION ORGANISER IN ADIDAS FACTORY IMPRISONED PENDING TRIAL
Letter Writing Appeal
The repression of workers' right to freedom of association in sportswear
factories in Indonesia continues. Please take a few minutes to read
Ngadinah's story and email, fax or write a brief polite letter in
her support.
BACKGROUND
29 year old Ngadinah Binti Abu Mawardi is the secretary of the
Footwear Workers Association (PERBUPAS), one of two unions operating
at PT Panarub, a company that produces for adidas In Indonesia.
In September 2000 the union organized a strike that was joined by
8000 workers from PT Panarub.
The demands of the workers involved introduction of and increases
to allowances, payment of overtime according to government regulations,
and the implementation of unpaid menstrual leave as required under
Indonesian law.
On September 12 there was an agreement between the union and PT
Panarub that the management would not fire or otherwise intimidate
workers who were involved in that strike.
THE ARREST
On April 20, 2001 the police called Ngadinah. On Monday 23 April
2001, following a visit to the Counsel for Prosecution (i.e. public
prosecutor's office), Ngadinah was arrested and placed in Tangerang
prison. She was accused of the crime "displeasing acts"
(tidak menyenangkan).
Ngadinah is being charged under an old article of Indonesian law,
Article 334, which dates back to Dutch colonial days and which was
often been used by the New Order government to suppress labor protests
and strikes. More broadly the article has a long history of use
to suppress political dissidents. The wording of this article is
extremely vague, indeed allowing for detention of any person suspected
of committing "displeasing acts".
Ngadinah was visited in prison by colleagues on 26 April, who reported
that she was stressed and in need of moral support.
ADIDAS-SALOMAN'S RESPONSE
In a 26 April response to concerns raised throughout the world,
adidas-Salomon said:
"It has come as some surprise ... that Ms Ngadinah was detained.
"adidas-Salomon deeply regrets that she has been singled out
for detention and prosecution and it is our hope that she is released.
However, given that she is the subject of a criminal legal proceedings
being dealt with by the local public prosecutor, her release is
not within the control of adidas-Salomon or PT Panarub.
"adidas-Salomon will continue to investigate this matter and
follow the case closely. We will continue also working with the
factory to ensure that the Right of Association standard is honoured."
AREAS OF CONCERN
Several aspects of this case are extremely concerning and in light
of them adidas-Salomon's suggestion that there is nothing the company
can do but monitor the case is intensely disappointing.
In particular it is far from clear why Ngadinah is being held in
detention pending trial. Amnesty International's Fair Trial Manual
notes that "People charged with a criminal offence should not
normally be held in detention pending trial" and that "the
presumption of innocence requires that any restrictions on a person's
liberty must be limited to those which are strictly necessary."
Under internationally accepted principles of justice the circumstances
in which it may be justifiable to keep a suspect in detention before
trial inclue "when it is deemed necessary to prevent the suspect
from fleeing, interfering with witnesses or when the suspect poses
a clear and serious risk to others which cannot be contained by
less restrictive means".
Ngadinah is committed to remaining in the factory as the union
secretary and is therefore extremely unlikely to abscond. To the
best of our knowledge there has been no suggestion that she is likely
to interfere with witnesses or pose a risk to others' safety.
The second extraordinary aspect of the case is the vagueness of
the charge. Amnesty International's Fair Trial Manual states that
"An arrest or detention which is lawful may nonetheless be
arbitrary under international standards, for example if the law
under which the person is detained is vague [or] over-broad...".
The police accusation Ngadinah would appear to be "vague and
over-broad". We have not seen any detailed explanation of the
criminal actions for which they believe she is responsible. Adidas'
statement on this matter was also extremely vague, saying only that
"there was some concern that factory employees had been intimidated
by those who lead the demonstrations, and that there had been a
series of unlawful acts endangering people's safety and property".
If adidas-Salomon has details of exactly what unlawful acts Ngadinah
has been charged with it would be good to see them as soon as possible.
In the absence of that information the police would appear to have
used a vague and ill-defined charge to arrest Ngadinah, making her
detention before trial even more concerning.
Given this legal history we believe it is incumbent upon adidas
to proactively intervene on Ngadinah's behalf. The Social Information
and Legal Guidance Foundation (SISBIKUM) believes that PT Panarub
has colluded with police on this matter with the intention of suppressing
the independent union at the factory. The Executive Secretary of
that organisation, Arist Merdeka Sirait, notes that the factory
has fired board members of this organisation in the past.
Given the extraordinary nature of this case and the allegations
that adidas supplier PT Panarub may be colluding with police in
order to suppress workers' right to freedom of association, the
situation demands clear and firm public statements to the Indonesian
press by both adidas-Salomon and PT Panarub. These statements should
call on local authorities to:
- operate according to internationally accepted legal standards
and release Ngadinah pending her trial, and
- detail the exact nature of the criminal actions of which she
is being accused.
In making these statements adidas and PT Panarub would not be commenting
on the truth or otherwise of the charges and hence would not be
compromising the fairness of the trial. Rather a statement along
these lines would be supporting the need for authorities to adhere
to internationally accepted standards of justice.
PT Panarub should also make a clear public statement clarifying
whether or not the factory asked the police to conduct the investigation
which has resulted in Ngadinah's arrest.
We understand that the conditions of Ngadinah's detention are poor
and that she is suffering considerable trauma. Given this there
is a need for urgent action on this matter.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
The Executive Secretary of the Social Information and Legal Guidance
Foundation (SISBIKUM) has called on all supporters of fair trade
and workers' rights to:
- (1) write or fax PT Panarub and adidas-Saloman demanding that
they take a stronger stand over this issue.
- (2) Write to the Indonesian Minster for Manpower and Transmigration
urging an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the
case and a submission of the results of that investigation to
the court.
You can also send Ngadinah an email (using straightforward English
and putting "Solidarity for Ngadinah" in the subject)
indicating your concern for her situation and solidarity with her
case.
Please send copies of your correspondence to
Federation of Independent Trade Unions (GSBI)
Jl. Balai Pustaka Barat Np. 23 A,
JAKARTA
INDONESIA
Email: gsbi@indosat.net.id
ADDRESSES TO USE
For Solidarity Messages to Ngadinah: gsbi@indosat.net.id
PT PANARUB:
Jl. Moh. Toha Km. 1,
TANGERANG
INDONESIA
Fax: (62-21) 5524319
The adidas-Saloman representative office in Jakarta:
Plaza Mashill, 10th Floor
Jl.Jend. Sudirman Kav. 25
JAKARTA 12920,
INDONESIA
Fax: (62-21) 5229770
The adidas-Saloman representative in Hong Kong:
Mr. Luke Connor
Adidas Salomon International Sourcing Limited
17/F, Tower 3, China Hong Kong City,
33 Canton Road, Tsimshatsui,
Kowloon,
Hong Kong
Fax: (852) 23028885
Email: luke.o'connor@adidas.com.hk
MENTERI TENAGA KERJA DAN TRANSMIGRASI RI
(Manpower and Transmigration Minister)
Jl. Gatot Subroto Kav. 57
JAKARTA
INDONESIA
Telephone: (62-21) 5255733, 525190
Tim Connor
Coordinator,
The NikeWatch Campaign
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