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1. INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY
From 16 through 22 January 2005 Global Union representatives visited Indonesia and Sri Lanka to meet with trade union organisations and with victims of the Tsunami of 26 December 2004 who lost relatives and friends, and most or everything they ever owned including their homes. At the time of the mission the death toll crossed the 200,000 mark, while the number of displaced persons in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and India reached 1.7 million.
In addition to Indonesia and Sri Lanka, member organisations in Bangladesh, India, Thailand, Tanzania, Kenya, Malaysia and the Maldives have endured hardships as well. Most of the recommendations which the Global Union representatives make for assistance programs are also applicable to these countries. Indonesia and Sri Lanka were selected for the mission because these countries were hit the hardest. It was not possible for the representatives to meet with all trade unions and to visit all sites due to the scale of the disaster. The information they collected during the mission, most of which is contained in this report, is not complete.
Children have been the main victims of the Tsunami. As many as 70,000 may not have survived the disaster. The number of children who lost a parent or became orphans may be twice as many. Hundreds of thousands of children who survived the ordeal became displaced and are traumatized.
The poor are paying the highest price. Their houses were the first ones to be washed away, and with the collapse of the fisheries, coastal agriculture, trading and informal economies they have also lost their main sources of revenue.
These groups, the most vulnerable and the poor, should also be the prime targets of the trade union solidarity programs, with special attention to women and girls.
In both Indonesia and Sri Lanka, the immediate needs of food, sanitation and shelter seem to be addressed more or less effectively, and programs for recovery and reconstruction are now being put into place. The success of these programs will depend on the availability of the funds committed by the international community, together with the capacity and willingness of national authorities to spend these funds wisely and to enable civil society to participate. In this regard both national trade unions and global unions have an important role to play. It should be noted however, that the trade union movements of Indonesia and Sri Lanka have limited capacity to exert pressure on the national authorities and to be able to carry out solidarity assistance programs effectively.. This clearly implies that Global Unions must play a strong role in mobilizing international solidarity, and also help them protect human and trade union rights, while implementing the programs. The delegation recommends the establishment of a Global Unions presence in Aceh, where the need is perceived to be greatest, for up to three years.
The Global Unions' mission identified four important targets.
1. For the thousands of displaced people to be able to return to their communities, assistance must be targeted at the re-establishment of their livelihoods and at job recovery . It is important that the local economies be given a jump start and that people become self reliant again. Global Unions and their members could contribute to the achievement of this aim by supporting vocational education programs, and assisting people in the fishing, agricultural and informal sectors to build organizations .
2. The return to school of the hundreds of thousands of children affected by the Tsunami will be crucial to the rehabilitation process. Not only will it facilitate the communities to return to normality, children will have a better chance of overcoming their traumas. Moreover, schools provide the best possible protection of children against exploitation by merciless traders, as well as against certain “acts of benevolence” undertaken by foreign organizations and individuals, such as the adoption of children. Some also claim to be “counselling” children when they are in fact proselytizing them. Global Unions and their members could contribute to the achievement of this aim by helping to reconstruct or repair school buildings and to provide school furniture and materials, by supporting scholarship programs for Tsunami orphans, and by sponsoring crash courses for local teachers in trauma counselling .
3. The reconstruction or repair of workers' homes and of union offices is to be started immediately. There are few assistance programs that will be more welcomed by the refugees than the ones that give them the perspective of adequate and permanent housing. This will not only help them cope with their traumatic experience, it will also generate economic activity, create employment possibilities, and bring confidence in the future. Global Unions and their members could contribute to the achievement of this aim by sponsoring housing programs , including the establishment of cooperatives , or possibly through loans.
4. Trade unions must help ensure a fair distribution of aid, and fight exploitation and violations of human and trade union rights as these occur in the wake of the Tsunami . National and local unions should be represented on bodies established by the authorities to coordinate recovery and rehabilitation programs. Global Unions could help achieve this aim by exerting pressure on the national authorities, as well as on the intergovernmental agencies and non governmental organisations involved in these programs. Also by sponsoring trade union training programs, by assisting unions organizing workers, and by helping them to implement assistance programs.
Although the immediate needs of food, sanitation and shelter are being addressed by the public authorities and aid agencies, the delegation is of the opinion that the member organisations in the affected countries should be enabled through international solidarity to provide financial assistance to family of union members who have died, to members who have lost their jobs or their houses or whose houses have been severely damaged. The delegation was able to help member organisations of Education International, the International Metalworkers Federation and the Public Services International.
The International Labour Organization Jakarta Office has developed a program for recovery and rehabilitation with immediate benefits for the affected population of the Aceh Province. The delegation is of the opinion that this program will greatly contribute to the relief of the people of Aceh. Trade union organisations in the industrial economies may wish to draw the attention of their governments to the program for which ILO seeks donor support ($ 18.5 million). The Mission recommends that similar programs be proposed for Sri Lanka and for other areas affected by the Tsunami.
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