In the clothing sector and on plantations in West Java (Indonesia), trade union development organisation CNV Internationaal has in recent years developed, together with KSBSI, a new concept: the multi-company Collective Bargaining Agreements (MC-CBA). In 2016, a first multi-company CBA was concluded. More of these MC-CBAs are currently being developed. Multi-company collective agreements contain arrangements for workers in several factories in the same sector or branch of industry in a given region.
They are established after negotiations between the employers of the participating factories, our partner trade union KSBSI, and the authorities. Thanks to that first multi-company CBA, some 17,000 employees at garment factories are now assured of arrangements on health and safety, working hours and compliance with wage agreements. Multi-company CBAs can also be seen as forerunners of regional industry branch or sectoral CBAs, and possibly even for a framework of national CBAs (which do not exist in Indonesia, though in many other countries they have already brought about major improvements). Moreover, these multi-company CBA projects encourage discussions on working conditions in participating factories. In addition, mutual trust between the negotiating partners also increases. Multi-company collective agreements thus lay an important foundation for effective social dialogue and improved industrial relations. CNV Internationaal initiates, supervises and promotes processes to reach multicompany collective agreements and supports the process by means of advice and training, for example in negotiation skills.
