Labor Federation Alleges Corporate Union Busting Over Worker Ouster
The ongoing industrial relations dispute between the Federation of Global Indonesian Trade Unions (FSPGI) and PT Indonesia Epson Industry intensified as hundreds of laborers swarmed the company's facility in the EJIP industrial zone, Cikarang. The demonstration, led by FSPGI President Abdul Bais, is scheduled to continue for three consecutive days to demand the immediate reinstatement of eleven suspended workers.
The conflict escalated rapidly after the manufacturing giant issued unilateral dismissals against eleven veteran employees who have served the company for decades. These individuals also hold key leadership positions within the newly formed FSPGI branch, turning a standard employment grievance into a major industrial standoff that has drawn substantial attention from regional labor networks.
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Union leaders strongly suspect that the termination policy masks an underlying campaign of illegal union busting and systemic discrimination by the local management. "Our meeting with the management team yielded no consensus, and those who attended lacked the official authority to make executive decisions," stated Bais, emphasizing that the union will sustain its picket lines until their core demands for worker reinstatement are fully met.
According to union representatives, the harsh management retaliation and suspensions initially targeted the group of workers shortly after they exercised their legal right to defect from the factory's previous, established labor union to form a more independent collective bargaining unit. Under current Indonesian employment regulations, punitive actions directed at employees for organizing or switching union affiliations violate established labor protections.