Kuswoyo, a 48-year-old father of two, worked at an asbestos factory in Cibinong, Bogor, Indonesia, for 28 years. Each day, he would mix sacks of raw asbestos and polymers with his bare hands to create asbestos insulation thread. “We didn’t wear gloves, and we had no masks, even though a notice on the wall said to, they were not provided,” he said.
Unions covering workers in Indonesia’s mostly state-owned coal-fired power sector are pushing for a just transition to renewable energy while retaining public ownership. Union Aid Abroad–APHEDA has joined the global union, Public Services International (PSI), to support their goal.
Following a historic win in the Indonesian Supreme Court earlier this year by the Indonesian ban asbestos network, which resulted in a court order for all asbestos materials to display health warning labelling, asbestos roof sheet manufacturers in Indonesia are suing all those who brought the case to the Supreme Court for damages.
The climate crisis is global and therefore needs a global response. That is why we are working with unions in neighbouring countries whose workers’ lives are affected by this crisis. At the end of this financial year, we are appealing to support our projects and build ‘Workers’ Power for Climate Action’.
Indonesia is the largest thermal coal exporter in the world, but that will change in the coming years ahead. A significant shift away from fossil fuels in Indonesia is coming, and it will massively affect the workforce.