1 November, 2022PT Tainan Enterprises in Indonesia are reinstating a woman union leader that was sacked over bogus claims earlier this year.
Rahmawati became local union president at PT Tainan in August 2021. In January 2022, the company started issuing warning letters to Rahmawati, claiming she was unable to achieve the production target.
After three warning letters, Rahmawati was dismissed on 18 May after 16 years of service. Garteks criticized the multinational garment company for union busting and filed a complaint with the North Jakarta labour office.
In August, the industrial relations mediator stated that PT Tainan had violated the Manpower Regulation and the collective agreement. It ruled that the company should reinstate Rahmawati in her original position with back pay.
Following interventions from IndustriALL Global Union and US brand Jcrew, who sources from PT Tainan, the company signed a settlement agreement with Garteks where Rahmawati will be reinstated to her original position on 1 November.
In addition, the company promised to respect workers’ freedom of association and to end gender-based violence.
“We thank IndustriALL for supporting the struggle in reaching an agreement. And thank you Jcrew and PT Tainan for joining the social dialogue which meant arriving at a satisfactory result,” says Garteks general secretary Trisnur Priyanto.
The three union leaders were dismissed by PT Tainan in August 2021, soon after the local union was established. At the time, they signed a settlement agreement with the employer accepting the termination on the condition that the company stop interfering with the Garteks members’ right to organize.
“We welcome the reinstatement of Rahmawati, and take the opportunity to reiterate that PT Tainan must allow workers to organize freely. This would include reinstating all sacked union leaders among their workforce,” says IndustriALL textile director Christina Hajagos-Clausen.