Made in Indonesia – Indonesian workers since Suharto (book review)

Title :-Made in Indonesia – Indonesian workers since Suharto.

By :- Dan La Botz

Published :- South End Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts (2001) Paperback (350 pages)

Outline;- The success of Suharto’s development program lead to significant growth through manufacturing factories an all sorts of industries. This spawned a great migration from poor villages to industrial centers and typical simplified worker and employer mentality. A few foreign manufacturers upheld good work practices, but most others did not. Inflation and socialization lead to the formation of unions that were often banned, but continued in other forms. Many government officials charged with protecting the workers were bought out by the owners and workers became more radicalized. An off shoot of this radicalization spread to the universities, and eventually contributed to the riots that lead to the fall of Suharto (there were non-union influences also at play). This book looks at the union / worker development and at many of the cases. This is a good record of the development of the Indonesian work force, management and government.

It is my opinion that many of the less desirable practices continue today, though the government is seen to be more sympathetic and the administration is better organized.