Sarbupri

Sarbupri, short for Sarekat Buruh Perkebunan Indonesia ('Estate Workers Union of Indonesia') was a trade union of plantation estate workers in Indonesia. Sarbupri was affiliated to the trade union centre SOBSI.

Sarbupri was founded in February 1947. Sarbupri initially worked only in the Republican-held areas.

Sarbupri campaigned actively against the use of temporary labour at estates. At times the union called for increased government control to prevent the use of temporary labour, at times Sarbupri called for total abolition of the temporary labour system.

The exact number of Sarbupri members who fell victims of the persecutions following the 1965 coup d'etat is not known. However, notably, very few former Sarbupri local branch leaders or estate representatives were alive as of the early 1980s. In several cases, children of Sarbupri leaders were forces to observe the executions of their fathers. For survivors of the repression, their membership in Sarbupri continued to constitute a social stigma for many years to come. In the New Order, former Sarbupri members were often blacklisted and fired from employment at plantation estates (although such moves were difficult to implement at estates were around 90% of the staff had once belonged to Sarbupri). As late as 1976 mass lay-offs of former Sarbupri members took place in Sumatra, actions motivated by the communist past of these individuals. In the wake of the crushing of Sarbupri, use of temporary labour increased markedly.