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An opinion by Thomas Barker, assistant professor of film and television at the University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus.

In the industrial zones of Bekasi, just east of Jakarta, labor unions are alive and well. Labor problems abound in terms of unscrupulous employers who mistreat their workers, bring in preman (thugs) to threaten them when they complain and finally lay the workers off without notice.

In response to this, workers in factories have organized to protect their interests, forming unions to negotiate with management on their behalf and push for wages and conditions that are at least in line with the minimum standard set by the law. In speaking with a single voice, workers have been able to articulate their common interests, including their opposition to recent legislation such as the proposed UU Ormas (Mass Organization Law).

For workers in the film industry, the story is very different. Since the end of the New Order in 1998 and the revival of local film production, Indonesian filmmakers have been reluctant to organize in order to collectively protect their interests in the face of state regulation, exploitation by big commercial producers, and the vested interests in the industry, in particular the Cinema 21 chain.

Such that when local films are criticized for their poor quality, the problem is not that producers are commercially minded, but that those actually making the films have a weak bargaining position. Moreover, filmmakers tend to see themselves as artists rather than workers. This shapes how they see themselves and their work.

Over the past two decades, as creativity and knowledge have become central components of economic activity, a new employment sector has emerged, known as the “Creative Industries”. Recognition of the importance of this sector has placed the spotlight on working conditions.

Creative Industries are often characterized by project based and contract work, in which workers move from job to job. This allows for flexibility in a fast moving industry like film, but it also opens the possibility of insecurity and uncertainty for those who do the creative work: The designers, the filmmakers, the event managers, and so on.

Often the challenge is finding the balance between flexibility and regulation. In Indonesia where the labor law is rarely enforced, even in factories where employee-employer roles are clear, regulating the creative sector will be even harder.

This does not mean the rights and interests of workers in the Creative Industries cannot be protected. In all countries the rights and conditions of employment are protected by law, especially in terms of pay, overtime and legal responsibilities such as insurance.

However, these protections rarely come about without pressure from workers themselves. When members from the Writers Guild of America went on strike in 2007-2008 over pay in the film and television industries, they won an increased pay percentage on digital distribution.

Even with such a strong union protecting writers, it has not stopped the US film and television industries from becoming hugely profitable and globally dominant.

The lack of organization in the Indonesian film industry has a number of contributing factors. Mainstream film production in Indonesia after 1998 was led by notable individuals such as Riri Riza and Mira Lesmana (Miles Films), Rudy Soedjarwo (ReLoad), Hanung Bramantyo (Dapur Film), Rizal Mantovani, Hanny Saputra, Awi Suryadi, Monty Tiwa (Moviesta) and Nayato Fio Nuala.

Each of them has established their own method of working, often establishing their own creative companies and taking projects from larger production companies such as Rapi Film, Maxima, MVP, MD, and so on. With their efforts concentrated on establishing themselves in the film industry and managing their productions, there is little time left to think about the horizontal connections between them.

New generation filmmakers have established organizations, yet none have really dealt with working conditions in the industry. I-sinema established in 2002 was a vehicle for young filmmakers to mutually support each other in making a feature film.

Later, Masyarakat Film Indonesia (MFI) was established to protest the re-regulation of the film industry and the return to New Order politics, culminating in a Constitutional Court challenge against the legality of the Censorship Board (LSF).

Although film production has stabilized since 2003, the conversation about some form of film workers union has not moved beyond informal discussion.

Enison Sinaryo from IKJ was interested in reforming the KFT (Karyawan Film dan Televisi) the New Order era workers’ union, but the KFT remains dominated by older figures who understand little about the contemporary industry.

Filmmaker and producer Tino Saroengallo has also been trying to move the conversation forward, but when I met him last week he felt the prospect of a union being formed was remote, even if the need for a union was now more urgent than ever.

According to Tino Saroengallo there are three issues that need to be addressed: Pay, working hours and insurance. Not only do pay standards vary between film, television and advertising and from project to project, but there is no consistency in when wages are paid. Crews have families and financial responsibilities and it can be hard for them to budget when they do not know when they will get paid.

Working hours are also a big issue, with overtime often informally negotiated or not properly stipulated in contracts. Then there are cases of injuries and deaths on set for which the lines of responsibility and compensation are unclear in the absence of a standard insurance scheme for workers.

Basic employment standards are stipulated by the Labor Law No. 13/2003, but what is really needed are clearer contracts between those funding the films and those making them. Current contracts are weighted in favor of producers who have been in the industry for decades.

When Indonesian filmmakers make a film for a big production company they sign away their creative ownership to their product. It is little wonder then that commercial filmmakers treat their films as a product, rather than something they feel ownership of. These changes will not come from producers whose interests lie in maintaining the status quo.

Whilst it is time for the government to start treating the creative industries like any other employment sector and ensure the labor law is enforced, film workers need to take the lead as well.

If film production is to be a well-regulated industry in which the workers, from directors to interns, have certainty and minimum protections in terms of wages, working hours and insurance then it’s time to get serious about unionizing.