Workers, Unions and Politics: Indonesia in the 1920s and 1930s

by John Ingleson

In Workers, Unions and Politics. Indonesia in the 1920s and 1930s, John Ingleson revises received understandings of the decade and a half between the failed communist uprisings of 1926/1927 and the Japanese occupation in 1942. They were important years for the labour movement. It had to recover from the crackdown by the colonial state and then cope with the impact of the 1930s depression. Labour unions were voices for greater social justice, for stronger legal protection and for improved opportunities for workers. They created a discourse of social rights and wage justice. They were major contributors to the growth of a stronger civil society.
The experiences and remembered histories of these years helped shape the agendas of post-independence labour unions.

Genres: History, Politics, Indonesian Literature

352 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

John Ingleson is Emeritus Professor of History at UNSW.

Reviews

[Kahfi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kebetulan sekali selesai membaca buku ini bertepatan dengan Hari Buruh Internasional.

Dinamika pergerakan buruh era kolonial khusunya periode 1920 s.d 1930 dapat dirangkum dalam satu kata yaitu: konsolidasi.

Banyak sekali kisah penyatuan yang berusaha dirajut kembali para serikat buruh yang berulang kali jatuh bangun dihajar pemerintah kolonial dan para majikan yang merepresi perkembangan nya dengan begitu mafhum.

Namun yang patut diingat bahwa hubungan serikat buruh dan partai politik pada masa ini masih terjalin meski sedikit tersendat pasca aksi mogok massal yang diinisiasi VSTP. Berbeda dengan sekarang yang kita tahu bersama bahwa serikat buruh dan partai politik saling memunggungi.

[melancholinary · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a work of history this book is impressively solid in its treatment of labour and trade-union dynamics during the 1920s and 1930s. It maps the constant tug-of-war among rival unions, party and non-party currents, the endlessly debated issues of race and class, and the urban–rural divide that shaped union activity under colonial rule. I learnt a good deal that was new to me, not least how the colonial army spied on labour unions to ensure they steered clear of any political ideology—in that era chiefly communism and Islam, a practice that has, tellingly, changed little to this day.

Another revelation was the way India’s anti-colonial struggle—above all the Swadeshi movement—influenced labour unrest in the 1930s, although some criticised Gandhi’s anti-technology stance. The chapter on anti-technology is especially illuminating, showing how the labour movement was caught between anti-colonial and anti-capitalist impulses: unions with a class-based outlook vilified capitalism, whereas those tied to nationalist circles regarded colonialism as the primary enemy. The anti-capitalist strand, in this context, often shaded into outright hostility to technology—fascinating reading.

My only regret is that the labour conflicts of the 1920s receive far less attention than the pre- and during-Depression years of the 1930s. Events such as the railway workers’ strike in 1923 and the communist uprising of 1926–27 are mentioned only in passing. A pity.

[Bimana Novantara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sangat banyak informasi tentang yang terjadi di Jawa pada masa 1927-1934, terutama persaingan faksi-faksi politik dalam berebut pengaruh atas serikat-serikat buruh. Tiga faksi besar itu adalah Partindo (partainya Sukarno), PNI Baru (Hatta dan Sjahrir), dan Indonesische Studie Club yang berubah menjadi Partai Bangsa Indonesia (PBI, dipimpin Sutomo). Selain itu, dijelaskan panjang lebar dinamika hubungan pemerintah kolonial Hindia Belanda dengan serikat-serikat buruh, yang secara garis besar isinya tarik ulur kepentingan mengenai besaran upah, terutama pada masa-masa sulit Depresi pada awal 1930-an.