JAKARTA, thewasesanews.com – Indonesia Is Free. But Its Film Workers Are Not Yet Truly Free.
More than 80 years after Indonesia declared independence, people across the country continue to enjoy laughter, entertainment, stories and creative works brought to life on screen. Yet behind the glamour of the entertainment industry, more than 200,000 film workers remain trapped in precarious working conditions, while fundamental labor rights and protections remain far from guaranteed.
The entertainment we enjoy on screen is made possible by the labor, exhaustion and sacrifice of the people working behind the scenes. They are the workers who keep Indonesia’s film industry moving. Yet for many of them, job security, fair working conditions, social protection, occupational safety, decent livelihoods and fundamental labor rights remain unresolved.
This is the contradiction we must confront: Indonesia can celebrate its independence as a nation while hundreds of thousands of people who create its entertainment remain without full protection, security and dignity at work.
Independence must mean more than a national celebration. It must be felt in every workplace — including film sets, production studios and every space where creative workers earn their living.
That is why we must collectively monitor, support and push forward the draft proposal submitted to the Indonesian Parliament (DPR) through the Grand Coalition for the Struggle of Indonesian Workers (KBPBI), led by Andi Gani Nena Wea.
This proposal must not remain merely a document. It must become part of a concrete struggle to strengthen labor protection, close legal gaps and build a more sustainable future for Indonesia’s film workers.
Film workers must no longer be viewed merely as the people behind the entertainment we consume. They are workers — with rights, dignity, livelihoods and a future that must be protected.
The films we watch, the stories we celebrate and the entertainment we enjoy do not appear by themselves. They are created through the labor of thousands of people working behind the screen.
If their work sustains our entertainment industry, then their rights must sustain their lives.
Indonesia may have achieved freedom as a nation. Now, it is time to ensure that the people behind the screen can experience that freedom in their workplaces.
Source : Zulfikar – Vice Chairman
Federation of Indonesian Film Workers’ Unions (FSPPI)
