What is Data Academy?
Data Academy is a collaborative program between Gajimu Indonesia (WageIndicator Foundation), Trade Union Right Center (TURC), and five Garment sector Trade Unions / Labor Unions to provide alternative education for union members and increase information transparency, especially in the Textile, Garment, Footwear and Leather sector in Indonesia.
It is hoped that the Data Academy participants will have the ability to collect, access and analyze the available data so that it can be used in the process of social dialogue and advocacy for better working conditions (currently there are two surveys conducted in Data Academy program, namely the Decent Work Check Survey and the COVID-19 Factory Survey. The survey result are displayed on the www.gajimu.com and www.gajimu.com/garmen pages).
What are the benefits of the Data Academy program?
This program is expected to provide benefits to a number of stakeholders, namely;
1) Workers
This program is expected to provide workers with awareness and knowledge of their rights, and an overview of working conditions in their factories, the extent to which factories comply with the Manpower Act, which is the first step for a change.
With the data-based social dialogue and advocacy mechanism implemented by the Trade Union / Labor Union (with the help of the Data Academy training), it is hoped that harmonious and effective industrial relations will be created, working conditions will be better and in the end workers will be more prosperous.
2) Trade Union / Labor Union
With this program, unions are expected to be able to detect and get a general picture of working conditions through surveys, create a database of issues that occur in factories, analyze, compile arguments and carry out data-based social dialogue with interest groups to encourage policy change in various level: factory, regional, national, and international
3) Company Management
Data Academy program is expected to make it easier for management to negotiate and avoid lengthy disputes between workers and/or trade unions, because social dialogue or negotiation activities to encourage policy change are now data-based.
The transparency of data on the process of improving the quality and working conditions of each factory can also serve as an internal media for employers to promote good working conditions.
4) Manpower Office
This Data Academy Program indirectly provides convenience for the Ministry and/or the Manpower Office in supervising labor issues, especially those that occur at the factory level.
5) Brands/Buyer
Brands and buyers can easily monitor the development of working conditions in the respective factories that produce their products. So that the transparently available information can support accountability and assist audits carried out by brands/buyers, it can also be use as a tool for early detection regarding working conditions in a factory.
How is the flow and work process of Data Academy program?
1. DATA COLLECTION
Data collection in the form of a survey was carried out by interviewers who had been trained intensively by the Data Academy, of course with the support of each Trade Union/Labor Union at various levels. The nature of the data collection is to see and assess facts related to the working conditions felt by workers.
Currently, the survey consists of 2 types:
a) Decent Work Check and Factory Survey
This survey was conducted to determine the working conditions in each factory by looking at the factory's level of compliance with applicable Labour Law and regulations.
b) COVID-19 Survey (Workers and Factory)
This survey was conducted to determine the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on working conditions, the number of workers and the company's business continuity in a factory in the face of the Covid-19 crisis.
2. DATA ACADEMY TRAINING - DATA ANALYSIS
Data Academy training will provide capacity building for trade union officials and members, so that they can have the ability to analyze the available data (be it the survey results collected by the Trade Union/Labor Union through the two surveys above or other public data)
In addition to analyzing available data, Data Academy training participants will also be trained to build data-based arguments so that they can be used in the process of social dialogue and/or CBA negotiations for advocacy at the factory level or at a broader level.
3. DATA/EVIDENCE-BASED SOCIAL DIALOGUE AND COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT (CBA)
The survey results can be used as basic information to trigger a social dialogue. Participants who take part in Data Academy program are also expected to be able to build data/evidence-based arguments when having dialogues with entrepreneurs. The results of teh social dialogue can result in corrective actions taken by employers, such as the adoption of Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA), clauses enhancement in CBA and job training.
4. MONITORING WORKING CONDITIONS
To facilitate monitoring of working conditions by various stakeholders in the Garment industry, the results of data collection, social dialogue processes and efforts to improve working conditions carried out by trade unions/labor unions and company management that are part of the Data Academy program will be displayed on the Gajimu Garment website.
So that in the future, stakeholders in the Garment industry can use the available data and work together for the welfare of workers and develop the Garment Industry in Indonesia.
Who are the program managers and beneficiaries of the Data Academy program?
The Data Academy program is run by a collaboration of two institutions, namely Gajimu.com and Trade Union Rights Center (TURC). These two institutions have different roles but support each other in this program. Gajimu.com acts as an institution that collects data and provides survey data. While TURC has a role to carry out capacity building activities for union members, namely; 1) Training for interviewers to increase their capacity in conducting factory surveys and as technical assistance for plant-level trade union when conducting social dialogue; 2) Training for selected trade union delegates to conduct social dialogue based on data from the Gajimu.com survey and other secondary data.
Find out more about the survey conducted by the Data Academy program