The women of Sukaluyu village are equipped with various skills to improve their quality of life and future.

From morning till night, the life of Susi Suhaeni, 29, is filled with taking care of household matters and doing her job as a tea picker. She is one of around 900 tea pickers in Sukaluyu Village, Bandung Regency, who spend an average of 15 hours a day working in the tea garden and taking care of their families. They can only rest for a maximum of 6 hours, while the time for themselves is no more than 3 hours per day.

The income from picking tea is actually not much, but plays an important role to sustain the family economy. With that being not enough, many families dig new holes to cover old holes by constantly borrowing money from loan sharks.

“As a casual daily labour, I make around Rp.400,000 a month, depending on the number of tea leaves that can be picked. My husband is a scavenger whose average income is Rp. 700,000 a month. Our monthly expenditure is more than IDR 1 million, excluding paying our debts,” said Susi.

Susi was born and raised in a family dependent on tea plantations. Her grandfather used to be a security guard for the garden, while Susi’s mother is a tea picker with a permanent worker status. Her husband use to be a tea picker, but became a junk collector because the pay was very small during the dry season. Married at an early age, 13 years old, Susi gave birth to her first child at the age of 14. Her son is now a junior high school (SMP) student.

Susi’s life struggles and stress gradually improved after she joined a women’s empowerment program called Her Economic Empowerment, Our Pride Forever (HOPE) initiated by Yayasan CARE Peduli (YCP). This program aims to overcome three major challenges for female tea plantation workers in Sukaluyu. First, the lack of education which makes them less empowered in decision-making and sometimes becomes victims of sexual harassment. Second, the lack of financial literacy which makes it difficult for them to access resources at the family, community, and alternative financial service institutions. Third, they also lack knowledge of clean water and sanitation, which has a negative impact on themselves, especially reproduction health and their families.

To overcome this, a number of interventions were implemented in the program funded by the Starbucks Foundation. Participants received training on a variety of topics, including how to communicate, division of roles and tasks in the family, managing stress and time, problem solving, household finances, personal savings planning, and being active in the planning of water sanitation and hygiene and its implementation. When their capabilities have been built, they are expected to be actively involved in development planning and budgeting for village funds, so that they will benefit from it.

Susi says that she was happy to be able to participate in a series of HOPE activities. “Just like school again. I am happy to add my knowledge and learn together with other mothers, ”she said.

She has put what she learned into practice at home. For  example, listening to more music in trying to manage stress. Susi also made priorities to her activities to divide her time more effectively between working in the tea garden, completing household matters, and attending HOPE classes.

For Yani Nurhaeni, 33 years old, the HOPE materials are very useful for her life. The former tea picker who is now a housewife is usually the only person doing all the domestic chores. As her communication skills improved, she is more able to communicate her intentions to her husband and her two children. The household chores are now divided more evenly among her family members, so that Yani can socialize with her friends and attend HOPE trainings.

“HOPE provides new knowledge and new
power that can change our lives. I try to share what I
get from HOPE with my friends too, ”she said.

The program also helps form groups of support systems and safe space for the participants. When studying with other women, they can share discussions more freely. Things like violence they may receive from their husbands, insufficient income from picking tea to cover family expenses, their children dropping out of school, to the fear of being evicted from their plantation houses if they no longer work there.

From YCP’s experience running programs in partnership with the private sector, a holistic approach to empowerment has generally benefited all stakeholders, both communities and companies. The HOPE program which lasted for two years up until November 2020 is expected to have such a positive impact as well. In order to increase the benefit, YCP hopes that similar programs can also be implemented in other tea plantations in Sukaluyu.

Empowerment of Women in Tea Plantations (Her Economic Empowerment, Our Pride Forever / HOPE)

Objective: Help women and girls living around tea plantations obtain a good quality of life through personal capacity enhancement, economic empowerment, as well as improving the quality of water sanitation and hygiene

Duration: November 2018-November 2020

Location: Sukaluyu Village, Bandung Regency

Target number of beneficiaries: 8,909 people

Funding support: Starbucks Foundation

The Labor School makes workers aware, robust data recording and processing is a strong weapon in labor negotiations.

Ismarlina, a worker at a garment factory, remembers very well about the lack of data collection and usage by her labour union in the past.  

“We used to receive complaints only from union members, then use them to negotiate a Collective Labor Agreement (PKB). We never collected data outside from the union, ”said the Secretary of the Indonesian Workers Union (SPSI) at the factory.

The situation changed after Ismarlina and her friends at the factory’s SPSI attended Labor School for women. The school is part of the Joint Towards Justice (BUKA) program initiated by Yayasan CARE Peduli (YCP).

They learn about the things that needs to be prepared for negotiations with the company such as finding, collecting, selecting, and analyzing data. They also learned how to use computers and prepare presentations, as well as the importance of a gender perspective in each agreement content.

“After joining the Labor School, I realized that data is very important because it can strengthen our position in negotiations. When we have robust data, the factory management is aware of and understands that the issues discussed is indeed in accordance with facts, reality and experienced by workers, “said Ismarlina.

Thanks to this, a number of changes have been achieved by SPSI. For example, complaints about unpaid overtime and harsh rebuke from workers’ supervisors are supported by complete data on the time of the incident, the names of the people involved, and the date the complaint was filed. They also filed a complaint supported with real photographs of dirty water tub in the women’s toilet. The factory management responded positively and improved the system so that the workers could feel the positive changes. 

The data also helps SPSI carry out more suitable advocacy. According to labor regulations, women workers are entitled to have two days of menstrual leave. However, the company replaced the leave with additional allowances. SPSI felt that the company’s policy was not in accordance with government regulations, hence they collected data on menstrual leave by asking the workers. It turned out that the majority chose to receive the additional allowances instead of taking menstrual leave.

A similar experience was felt by Nur Rohmah, a worker and a labour union member at another garment factory in Sukabumi.

“In the previous PKB negotiations, the issue was the work contract, but we didn’t know what direction we wanted to take the negotiations towards. Do we want to push for workers to get permanent positions, or only as contract workers? We don’t have the data for the 1,300 workers, how many want to become permanent or contract workers, ”said the woman who is usually called Iyoh.

The union then collected data from its members. It turned out that more than 90% of them were not aware about their status, whether they were permanent or contract workers. Some have signed one contract for three years, others have received two separate contracts during the same period. Most of the contract workers were laid off after working for three years and then reinstated with new contracts. Whereas, the Labour Law states that workers who have worked for three years in a company automatically become permanent workers.

Data is their ammunition to urge factory management to change the status of contract workers who have met the requirements to become permanent workers. “We have met the management twice, and we are still in process,” said Iyoh.

Data recording is also very important in resolving cases of sexual harassment, exploitation and violence in factories.

Iyoh remembers that in 2018 there was a report from a sexual harassment victim. The union met with the Human Resources (HR) Department, the perpetrator, and the victim. The perpetrator then apologized and offered to compensate, but was refused. The victim wanted to resign, but was persuaded to stay.

“The case was considered closed. The incident should have been well documented, ”said Iyoh, who is committed in keeping track of the process of other cases in the future.

The Labor School also provides other benefits for Iyoh.

“After my friends leraned that I joined the Labor School,
they appreciated me more. They have more belief that unions
can be trusted to solve problems, “she said.

After completing the materials, the Labor School participants felt that their self-confidence increased significantly. At the beginning most of them were shy of speaking in public, now the situation has changed.

YCP observed that more than 50% of the participants has the courage to speak in front of many people in support of labor rights, including during the commemoration of World Labor Day.

Afterwards, their male colleagues then asked to attend the Labor School.

Moreover, the gender sensitivity of Labor School students is increasing. They can now identify and analyze gender injustices that occur in families, communities, unions and factories. Before Labor School, only 30% of participants believed that the role of men and women in the family should be balanced. The percentage has now increased to 60%.

One of the important lessons learned in this process is that gender sensitivity training is appropriate for women and men with a non-patronizing approach.

This makes men realize that they have a share in creating gender justice in their environment. By learning together with their female friends, they can share and understand each other much better.

Although the process is not over yet, BUKA has succeeded in increasing the capacity, critical thinking, and gender perspective of women workers. They are also equipped with adequate leadership skills, so that they can become officials of trade unions, and even join the PKB negotiation team engaging  the company. In this way, the unions pay attention to women’s issues, thus the benefits are felt by women workers.

This makes men realize that they have a share in creating gender justice in their environment. By learning together with their female friends, they can share and understand each other much better.

Together Towards Justice (BUKA)

Objective: Enable labour unions to be competent in developing and negotiating a more just and data-driven Collective Labor Agreement (PKB) that is women workers sensitive. 

Duration: July 2018-June 2020

Location: Sukabumi Regency and Bandung Regency, West Java

Number of beneficiaries as of February 2020: 43,548 working women (72%), 16,999 working men (28%)

Partner: Trade Union Rights Center (TURC)

Funding support: Laudes Foundation

Women in Indonesia face a variety of challenges, ranging from vulnerability to natural disasters and the climate crisis to insufficient economic literacy. Women also experience poverty and limited access to basic services such as health and education, hampering their active participation in social, economic, political and ecological matters.

Living in Indonesia means having to be prepared for natural disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, and landslides. Meanwhile, there is also the threat of drought and floods triggered by the global climate crisis. Women are usually among the most vulnerable in these situations, consequently they need to have the ability to anticipate and adapt when they have to face it.

Not everyone has equally benefited from the country’s economic growth. In order for women to benefit from the improved economy, they also need adequate skills in managing their livelihood independently.

Indonesia needs the role of women to reinforce development. The government also realizes that women holds an important position in driving the country’s economic growth. Thus, in parallel with policy-making that are more supportive of women’s public roles, women’s abilities and participation in development must be increased.

This is in line with Yayasan CARE Peduli (YCP)’s approach which promotes gender equality and womens voices in all of its programs which must be accompanied by transformative changes to achieve this goal.

Through programs that focus on social justice and poverty alleviation, YCP seeks to contribute in efforts to build the capacity of Indonesian women.

YCP seeks to build community agency from all walks of life – be it men, women, girls and boys; change the relationship between them, and transform the structure so that they can reach their full potential in life. With that, in an equitable manner, they can contribute to and benefit from development.

In implementing the program, women play important roles and are ready to support other women in an effort to make them resilient as well. When we say a women is resilient,  their distinctive characteristics are high self-esteem, knowledge of their strengths, and the ability to manage priorities and make decisions. They are able to speak up and make their own choices. Resilient women can also access resources and information and share them with others. They understand about risk, vulnerability, and how to mitigate it. They are also able to learn from their life experiences.

This writing shares stories of some of the resilient women that YCP met. From garment factories to purple sweet potato fields, West Java to East Nusa Tenggara, sparks of positive changes show in their lives. YCP hopes that their stories will inspire all parties to work together to build the capacity of more resilient women. 

We believe that with more resilient women, Indonesia will become stronger and more resilient.

Happy reading.

Yayasan CARE Peduli (YCP) has been present in Indonesia since 1967, starting with food distribution activities and providing supplementary food. YCP’s activities have extended to include clean water and sanitation, community empowerment, environment, climate change, disaster response assistance, and empowerment of women and youth.

Over time, in 2018 CARE International in Indonesia changed to the Yayasan CARE Peduli, better known as YCP. YCP’s program focuses on two areas; Disaster Risk Management and Gender Justice & Social Inclusion