Trade and FPRW in Indonesia: Realizing trade gains free from gender discrimination and child labour (RealGains)

Trade and Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work (FPRW) in Indonesia: Realizing Trade Gains Free from Gender Discrimination and Child Labour (RealGains) Project aims to strengthen the enabling environment for trade and investment in selected export sectors by addressing persistent FPRW deficits, particularly regarding gender-based discrimination and child labour. By doing so, it focuses on protecting the rights and well-being of women and children during trade expansion and economic growth. It contributes to the achievement of results under Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy (IPS), notably objective 2: “Expand trade, investment, and supply chain resilience.” The project addresses the following problems: Gender-based discrimination in the workplace remains widespread in Indonesia, adversely affecting women’s participation in the labour force as well as companies’ productivity and growth potential. Prevailing forms of gender-based discrimination at work include violence and harassment, wage gaps, and unequal access to skills and career development opportunities. To address this issue, RealGains strengthens the capacity of tripartite organisations to promote equal employment opportunities, builds the capacity of companies to implement gender-inclusive workplace policies—including policies to prevent and handle sexual harassment—and promotes OSH in a gender-responsive manner. Additionally, it strengthens grievance-handling mechanisms. Child labour persists, particularly in agriculture, where the majority of working children (aged 5-14 years) are found. The work that children do on plantations can be hazardous, including spraying pesticides and harvesting and loading fruits. Existing national child labour monitoring, law enforcement, and awareness-raising practices remain insufficient to eliminate child labour. To address this issue, RealGains strengthens the capacity of tripartite agencies to implement the Advanced Child Labour Free Road Map 2025-2029, improves child labour monitoring mechanisms, and enforces the ‘No Child Labour’ legislation. Protecting workers’ rights is another key issue that the project addresses. To this end, it builds the capacity of trade unions, improves labour inspection capacity, and strengthens grievance-handling mechanisms. By building on the achievements of the project “Strengthening Industrial Relations in Indonesia (SIRI)” (IDN/22/01-CAN), RealGains enhances the capacity of trade unions to handle grievances, promotes gender equality in union leadership structures, and engages in dialogue and negotiations. Their increased knowledge and skills on these topics contribute to preventing and handling gender-based discrimination at work, eliminating child labour, improving workers’ access to their rights, and strengthening FPRW in export-oriented industries at large.

Project symbol

IDN/24/02/CAN

Admin unit

CO-Jakarta

Start date

21/02/2025

End date

20/02/2028

Total allocation

1689516

Total expenditure

Status

Active

466106

Development Partners

Canada, Employment and Social Development Canada

Country/Countries

Indonesia

Outcomes

Outcome 1: Strong, modernized normative action for social justice
Outcome 2: Strong, representative and influential tripartite constituents and effective social dialogue
Outcome 5: Gender equality and equality of treatment and opportunities for all