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Paper short abstract:

Indonesia's urban and rural industrial characteristics shape garment shop floor politics. High production targets, "molor" work system, and silencing workers occur in both regions, resulting in declining livelihood and workers' organisation, and blurring production and social reproduction.

Paper long abstract:

This paper discusses how Indonesia's garment shop floor politics affects the livelihood/social reproduction of women workers and workers' organising in urban and rural settings. The research was conducted for four months in two bonded industrial areas located in Jakarta (an urban area) and Semarang Regency (a rural area), Indonesia, employing qualitative methods. The researcher interviewed 58 workers (six of them are male) who currently or previously worked in the garment sector, using life history interviews. Additionally, the researcher observed their daily lives. In-depth interviews were also conducted with company representatives, government officials, and bonded zone authorities (in Jakarta). It is essential to acknowledge the distinct industrial characteristics of these two bonded areas, as these differences also shape the dynamics of shop floor politics and their resultant impacts, particularly concerning livelihood/social reproduction. In this context, three critical aspects of shop floor politics were identified in both regions. First, the imposition of high production targets has resulted in a decline in the physical and mental well-being of women workers, significantly affecting their daily lives. Second, the surplus value extraction occurs more intensively with a "molor" work system, which has been normalised through the perpetuation of capitalist work values, including individualising work-related issues, resulting in the blurring of production and social reproduction. Third, the nature of work demanding focus and advanced skills is often used as a pretext for silencing workers, which has far-reaching consequences for workers organising within this sector.

Keywords: shop floor politics, garment industry, urban and rural, social reproduction, Indonesia.