Developing a Movement? Aid-Based Mediated Diffusion as a Strategy to Promote Labour Activism in post-Tsunami Aceh

Abstract

In this article we examine the extent to which mediated diffusion through trade union development aid succeeded in helping to establish a labour movement in Aceh after the 2004 tsunami. The international labour movement organisations involved in the post-tsunami reconstruction effort in Aceh focused their efforts primarily on humanitarian aid, physical infrastructure and vocational education. However, they also supported trade union-building programs, which succeeded in strengthening individual trade unions and instilling a sense of shared identity amongst Acehnese labour activists but ultimately failed to ensure the sustainability of the movement. We argue that while the Aceh case highlights the importance of local context to the outcomes of such interventions, the constraints imposed on international labour donors and their local counterparts by their focus on reconstruction and the time pressures of the post-tsunami aid cycle raise questions about the efficacy of the aid model as a means of promoting the growth of a social movement.

Political Conflict and Investment Inflows Into Aceh Province of Indonesia

“…The 2004 tsunami helped trigger a peace agreement between the Free Aceh Movement and Indonesian central government. It drew a lot of international attention to the conflict, wiped out many supplies, and killed many personnel from both sides [3]. Earlier efforts to resolve this political conflict had failed, but for a number of reasons including the tsunami, peace prevailed in 2005 after 29 years of war.…”

The International Labour Organization as a development actor in Southeast Asia

“…The international labor movement was also heavily involved in development projects in Aceh, including the construction of community centers(Ford and Dibley 2012). For further discussion of the Aceh case, and of trade union aid as a form of mediated diffusion, seeFord and Dibley (2011). For a discussion of the ILO's conscious attempt to boost its significance as a development agency in order to supplement its limited budgets and personnel capacity, seeStanding (2008).…”