Gender Responsive Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) Workshop in Cirebon
August 25-27, 2023
The Makin Terang team organised a Responsive-Gender Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) Workshop from August 25 to 27, 2023, in Cirebon, Central Java. This event was attended by 24 representatives from labour unions at the factory level, originating from 12 (presumably a company or organisation) garment factories in West Java and its surroundings. This workshop specifically targeted labour union representatives who were in the process of negotiating CBA with management. This PKB workshop aimed to assist these representatives in drafting and negotiating CBAs that go beyond normative regulations and consider gender perspectives.
DAY ONE, August 25, 2023
After introductions and agreeing on the workshop's rules, the Makin Terang Team began with the first topic: "Genuine labour unions." Facilitated by Ichsan (TURC), this session encouraged participants to rethink the role of labour unions, their significance, their primary mandates, and the history of the labour union movement. A key point of discussion was that labour unions can play a crucial role in workplace policy politics when they have a solid and well-organised structure.
Continuing the discussion on original labour unions, Zulfikar from TURC facilitated a session on collective bargaining, a primary function of labour unions. Through collective bargaining, workers, through their unions, can advocate for fair working conditions amidst the employers' interests in profit. The discussion became more engaging when examining the principles of collective bargaining, which have their legal logic. At the same time, labour unions strive to negotiate independently, even without a legal framework. This session aimed to prepare participants for better CBA negotiations in the future.
During the first day's session, participants were encouraged to utilise the Gajimu website as a source of information and reference, not only for labour laws but also for data that could be used for negotiation and advocacy. Participants specifically practised accessing and reading the CBA database available on Gajimu. In the CBA Database, participants could access hundreds of CBAs from various sectors and compare existing clauses.
DAY TWO, August 26, 2023
Before delving into the second day's topics, facilitators asked participants to review the material from the first day. Then, Lydia from Gajimu led a session on CBAs after the Omnibus Law. During this session, Lydia presented Gajimu's research findings on comparing CBAs before and after implementing the Omnibus Law. On the one hand, the Omnibus Law did reduce labour rights standards. However, labour unions still strive to preserve specific clauses, even winning other clauses unaffected by the Omnibus Law, such as gender equality, training, and family rights.
The focus then shifted to gender-responsive CBAs, with Biko from TURC helping participants understand the concept of gender responsiveness. This session was crucial for recognising gender disparities in society, especially in the workplace. Through CBAs, labour unions can provide a strategy to create a safe workplace free from violence and harassment and to ensure women's rights. This is reflected in several CBA clauses that address anti-discrimination, sexual harassment prevention, occupational health and safety, and maternity rights for female workers (maternity leave, breastfeeding, and paternal leave), as well as clauses protecting vulnerable groups of workers (disabled workers, young workers, elderly workers, migrants, etc.).
After receiving adequate guidance, participants were guided to map out issues in their factories based on the topics or clauses in the Gajimu CBA Database. Participants selected the most pressing topics related to gender issues. With the facilitators' assistance, each factory's group created a DIM (List of Issue Inventory) for each selected topic. DIM aimed to map out old CBA clauses that needed improvement with new ones. Within DIM, participants also drafted various arguments, supporting data, and benefits for the company to persuade management to accept these new clauses during CBA negotiations.
DAY THREE, August 27, 2023
After reviewing the material from the second day, participants began presenting the results of their DIM mapping for each factory. During this session, participants listened to each other's findings and provided feedback, suggestions, and critiques on their DIM mappings. The labour union representatives at the CBA Workshop could formulate and draft CBAs more effectively through these discussions. As a follow-up to the workshop, TURC and Gajimu will monitor and open discussions on the clauses participants will draft to improve CBAs in their companies.
Learn more about our programme:
FAQ Gender-Responsive CBA Workshop
FAQ Makin Terang Programme
Data-Driven Advocacy Workshop in West Java
Interviewer Workshop