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Teri L. Caraway
Can the Leopard Change Its Spots?
Legacy Unions in New Democracies
After the fall of Suharto in May 1998, Indonesia moved toward a more open political system, which
led to enormous changes in labor relations. Virtually overnight a highly controlled system of labor
relations collapsed and hundreds of new unions emerged. Under Suharto, the state demobilized
labor and only permitted one state-backed union, the All-Indonesia Workers Unions (SPSI, Serikat
Pekerja Seluruh Indonesia) to exist. Although labor played a minimal role in Suharto’s demise
(Aspinall 2001), the first post-Suharto government immediately ratified the ILO’s Convention on
Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize. Since SPSI was an ineffective
advocate for workers, organized only a small percentage of the labor force, showed few signs of
reforming, and was shunned by international funders, most labor activists wrote off SPSI following
the transition, surmising that members would abandon SPSI and join new unions in droves.
Moreover, diminished state support would lead to SPSI’s collapse. Yet SPSI, while not flourishing,
remains the largest confederation in Indonesia.
In this paper, I explore the resilience of SPSI as a way to both understand their continued
dominance in Indonesia to reflect on the broader theoretical issue of legacy unions.
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I argue that
SPSI has maintained its ascendancy primarily through preventing exit rather than as a result of
fundamental reforms. It has been able to prevent exit through collaboration with management,
intimidation of opponents, continued government favoritism, and through conceding autonomy to
lower levels of the organization. However, SPSI keeps ahead of the other unions not only by
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Much of the material in this paper is based on interviews conducted over the last four years with
leaders from unions affiliated to the three major confederations as well as with some unaffiliated
federations. Interviews were conducted with union leaders and activists from labor rights NGOs in
North Sumatra (Medan), East Kalimantan (Samarinda), East Java (Surabaya), West Java (Bandung,
Bekasi, and Bogor), Banten (Tangerang), and Jakarta. Specific interviews are not cited when
presenting general trends, but they are cited for more specific data.
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