Indonesia - Union organisers detained and threatened (2010)

Federation of Indonesian Metalworkers Union (FSPMI) called on Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to intervene to ensure the release of FSPMI organisers and shop stewards Ms. Evi Risiasari and Ms. Yuli Setianingsih, who had been imprisoned as a result of their union activities at PT Takita Manufacturing in Bakasi, Jakarta. The two union representatives had been fighting to secure permanent employment for employees at Takita where less than half of the workers have permanent jobs. On 3 March, they were arrested and remanded into detention on charges of falsifying medical expense claims. The International Metalworkers’ Federation (IMF) said that the charges were false and that the women signed «forced statements», admitting the charges only after being threatened with immediate dismissal by their employer.