ABSTRACT
One of the most notable aspects of labour politics in Indonesia over the past decade has been a dramatic rise in the incidence of labour activism, culminating in strikes and protests, particularly in Java’s export-oriented industrial zones. Since the mid-1990s, prior to the political turmoil surrounding the ousting of Suharto and subsequent presidential transitions, strikes and labour-instigated demonstrations have been an almost daily feature of industrial life in areas such as Tangerang and Bekasi in West Java, Surabaya in East Java, and Medan in North Sumatra (Manning 1993, Hadiz 1997, Kammen 1999, Ford 2001). A singular feature of contemporary labour activism among factory workers in Indonesia has been the increasing militancy of women workers. Far from being the docile, compliant young factory girls harnessed by global capital, as portrayed in populist accounts and reproduced in the New International Division of Labour literature (Pearson 1986, Safa 1986, Wolf 1992), women have been active players in the surge oflabour activism over the past few years (Saptari 1995, Tjandraningsih 1995, Andriyani 1996, Hadiz 1997, Smyth and Grijns 1997). This phenomenon has been attributed to a growing worker consciousness among female factory workers as large numbers of women have been drawn into waged factory work and as they confront the exigencies of state labour policy. More specifically, their propensity to resist as workers has come about as they have been increasingly linked into activist networks and labour-oriented non-governmental organisations (NGOs) active in industrial areas (Manning 1992, Hadiz 1997, Pangestu and Hendytio 1997).
