Berita Baru, Jakarta – Civil society organizations comprising the International NGO Forum on Indonesian Development (INFID), the Transnational Institute (TNI), Perkumpulan PRAKARSA, Publish What You Pay (PWYP) Indonesia, and the Sahita Institute have urged BRICS member states not to repeat a development model that prioritizes economic growth without guaranteeing the protection of workers’ rights. The call was made in response to the 2026 BRICS Labour Ministers’ Declaration, which is seen as lacking a strong commitment to the creation of decent work and social justice.
In a joint press release issued in Jakarta on Friday (18 July), the civil society coalition stated that the declaration adopted at the 12th BRICS Labour Ministers’ Meeting in Hyderabad, India, on 15 July 2026 includes agendas such as expanding social protection, increasing women’s participation in the workforce, developing skills, and advancing digital transformation. However, the declaration is considered insufficiently balanced by firm commitments to protect workers’ rights, including freedom of association, collective bargaining, living wages, labour protection, and corporate accountability mechanisms.
INFID Executive Director Siti Khoirun Ni’mah said that BRICS should become an alternative force capable of demonstrating that economic development can progress alongside respect for workers’ rights and the reduction of inequality.
“BRICS must not become merely a new economic bloc pursuing growth through purely technocratic discussions. BRICS should be an alternative force that demonstrates that development can advance alongside respect for workers’ rights, the reduction of inequality, and social justice,” Siti Khoirun Ni’mah said.
The civil society coalition also highlighted the importance of developing skills that are relevant to the energy transition. According to the coalition, workforce capacity-building strategies must be accompanied by inclusive reskilling programs, given that Indonesia’s vocational education curriculum is still dominated by extractive economic sectors. Data cited in the press release show that only 3.1 percent of vocational high school (SMK) study programs are related to the energy sector, while less than 1 percent specifically focus on renewable energy. Without serious intervention, the green transition is considered likely to create structural unemployment in natural resource-producing regions.
The coalition emphasized that South–South cooperation must not be oriented solely toward investment and industrial competitiveness. Instead, such cooperation should strengthen universal social protection, raise labour standards, expand social dialogue, and ensure that the benefits of development are distributed fairly across society.
Transnational Institute (TNI) researcher Rachmi Hertanti argued that the energy transition agenda within BRICS risks deepening dependence on natural resource exports if it is not accompanied by cooperation that promotes domestic value addition and technology transfer.
“If BRICS cooperation continues to maintain a pattern of extracting natural resources from developing countries without meaningful technology transfer and without creating quality industrial jobs, then BRICS South–South cooperation will instead perpetuate what is known as green extractivism,” Rachmi Hertanti stressed.
Perkumpulan PRAKARSA Executive Director Victoria Fanggidae also warned that the success of downstream industrialization cannot be measured solely by increases in export value or investment. According to her, practices on the ground show that the critical minerals industry continues to face problems related to occupational safety and social burdens borne by communities living around mining areas.
Meanwhile, Publish What You Pay (PWYP) Indonesia Coordinator Aryanto Nugroho emphasized the importance of transparency in mineral downstreaming policies so that economic benefits are not enjoyed only by a small group of actors.
“Follow the money, and we will know who profits from this downstreaming agenda. Follow the decision-making process, and we will know who is actually sitting at the table,” Aryanto Nugroho said.
In the press release, PWYP Indonesia and other civil society organizations urged the Indonesian government to use its BRICS membership to advance four main agendas: labour protection aligned with workers’ rights, South–South cooperation that strengthens universal social protection, green industrial policies that create decent work, and accountability mechanisms so that BRICS labour commitments can be measured and their implementation effectively monitored.
Concluding her statement, Siti Khoirun Ni’mah emphasized that BRICS will lose its relevance if it becomes merely a new economic forum with old development patterns. According to her, the world needs international cooperation that places people, workers’ rights, and social justice at the center of economic transformation.
Source: beritabaru.co