Security workers’ yearlong struggle pays off: Multinational security provider is forced to
by Timboel Siregar Friday August 18, 2006 at 01:48 PM
Association of Indonesian Labor Unions

More than 150 security workers for Securicor Indonesia won a 15-month struggle with your help—and emails from more than 6000 other people demanding the company respect their rights and the country’s laws. These workers were fired illegally by Securicor and then refused back pay even after the Indonesian Supreme Court ordered the company to obey the law.

Security workers’ yearlong struggle pays off: Multinational security provider is forced to respect human rights

We want to express our thanks to SEIU, Labourstart, and particularly to the more than 6000 people who wrote emails demanding that the company respect our rights and our country’s laws.

More than 150 security workers for Securicor Indonesia won a 15-month struggle with your help—and emails from more than 6000 other people demanding the company respect their rights and the country’s laws. These workers were fired illegally by Securicor and then refused back pay even after the Indonesian Supreme Court ordered the company to obey the law.

Over the past 15 months, Securicor Indonesia has tried to ignore, intimidate, and undercut our struggle to demand our rights. Through solidarity, we have been able to show them that Indonesian workers can take on international corporations and win.

We have heard from the company how much the involvement of unions and individuals from around the world has infuriated them. They thought they could ignore our rights and our laws without any consequences, but instead they found themselves in an international spotlight. We want to express our thanks to SEIU, Labourstart, and particularly to the more than 6000 people who wrote emails demanding that the company respect our rights and our country’s laws.

This victory will make a huge difference in our lives and those of our families. May God bless everyone who has given us their support. We will keep fighting for the rights of the thousands of Group 4 Securicor workers in Indonesia. We hope that this international support will continue for them and for the other Group 4 Securicor workers around the world whose rights are being violated. Hopefully our victory will be a step towards teaching Group 4 Securicor management that they must respect all workers’ rights.

—Timboel Siregar, Association of Indonesian Labor Unions

labourstart.org

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