In March 2014, members of the Pindo Deli Paper Workers’ Union, at one of the Asia Pulp and Paper (APP) - Sinar Mas factories in Karawang district of Indonesia, went on strike to demand that management return to negotiations, and to discuss the minimum wage rate established in the district by the Governor of West Java.
Earlier, APP had illegally broken off collective bargaining negotiations and called in the local army and police to intimidate workers against support the union FSP2KI. The company rejected all union proposals during four failed bargaining rounds, and the troops started intimidating workers even before the first round in December 2013.
In response to the strike, APP declared the strike illegal and used police force to try to force the workers back to work. APP also illegally deducted the pay of union leaders.
APP is a global market leader with a history of anti-union tactics at its PT Pindo Deli’s twin mills in Karawang, one of the world’s largest paper mills. The Pindo Deli Paper Workers’ Union is a branch of the FSP2KI and represents more than half of the 13,000 employees at the mill.