The Labour Party of Indonesia ( id, Partai Buruh Indonesia, PBI) was a

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

Indonesian Labour Front

The party was founded as a

national trade union center A national trade union center (or national center or central) is a federation or confederation of trade unions in a country. Nearly every country in the world has a national trade union center, and many have more than one. In some regions, such a ...

, the Indonesian Labour Front (''Barisan Buruh Indonesia'', BBI), on 15 September 1945. At the BBI congress 9 November 1945, BBI transformed itself into a political party and adopted the name PBI.
Ensiklopedi umum
'. Yogyakarta: Yayasan Kanisius, 1977. p. 133Kahin, George McTurnan.
Nationalism and Revolution in Indonesia
'. Studies on Southeast Asia, 35. Ithaca, NY: Cornell Southeast Asia Program, 2003. p. 161

As a political party

Initially PBI was run by individuals who had worked at the Labour Department during the Japanese occupation. But in 1946 Setiadjit returned to Indonesia from exile in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, and he assumed leadership of the party and became its chairman. Under Setiadjit, the collaborationist elements lost control over the party. Setiadjit's takeover in PBI was done with active support from the Indonesian government, as

Sukarno Sukarno). (; born Koesno Sosrodihardjo, ; 6 June 1901 – 21 June 1970) was an Indonesian statesman, orator, revolutionary, and nationalist who was the first president of Indonesia, serving from 1945 to 1967. Sukarno was the leader of ...

had feared strong '

anarcho-syndicalist Anarcho-syndicalism is a political philosophy and anarchist school of thought that views revolutionary industrial unionism or syndicalism as a method for workers in capitalist society to gain control of an economy and thus control influence in b ...

' tendencies of PBI. During the first year and half of the party under Setiadjit, the party was closely aligned with the larger

Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...

.Rose, Saul. ''Socialism in Southern Asia''. London: Oxford University Press, 1959. pp. 152-153 The mutation of BBI into PBI was not uncontroversial inside the BBI ranks. A group that wanted to concentrate on trade unionism left the party, and refounded the BBI on 31 December 1945. This BBI later adopted the name Gasbi.

In national politics

The party joined the '' Konsenstrasi Nasional'' bloc, a pro-government alliance formed in May 1946.Rose, Saul. ''Socialism in Southern Asia''. London: Oxford University Press, 1959. p. 147 In October 1946, the government was broadened to include leaders from several political forces. A new pro-government coalition, Sajap Kiri, was founded to support the

Linggadjati Agreement The Linggardjati Agreement (''Linggarjati'' in modern Indonesian spelling) was a political accord concluded on 15 November 1946 by the Dutch administration and the unilaterally declared Republic of Indonesia in the village of Linggarjati, Kuning ...

with the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

government. Sajap Kiri consisted of the PBI,

Pesindo People's Youth ( Indonesian: ''Pemuda Rakyat'') was the youth wing of the Communist Party of Indonesia (PKI). The organisation was formed as the Socialist Youth of Indonesia (''Pemuda Sosialis Indonesia'' or ''Pesindo''). Initially the organisati ...

and the

Communist Party of Indonesia The Communist Party of Indonesia (Indonesian: ''Partai Komunis Indonesia'', PKI) was a communist party in Indonesia during the mid-20th century. It was the largest non-ruling communist party in the world before its violent disbandment in 1965. ...

. At the time, the PBI was estimated to have around 1,000 members. In March 1947, the

Central Indonesian National Committee The Central Indonesian National Committee, ( id, Komite Nasional Indonesia Pusat) or KNIP, was a body appointed to assist the president of the newly independent Indonesia. Originally purely advisory, it later gained assumed legislative functions. ...

(the Indonesian legislative body) was enlarged from 200 to 514 seats. The PBI faction grew from six deputies to 35.Mrázek, Rudolf.
Sjahrir: Politics and Exile in Indonesia
'. Studies on Southeast Asia, no. 14. Ithaca, N.Y.: Southeast Asia Program, Cornell University, 1994. p. 325 In January 1948 PBI and Sajap Kiri went into opposition. In the coming month, Sajap Kiri evolved into the People's Democratic Front, with PBI as one of its constituents.

Women's wing

The

Working Women's Front The Working Women's Front ( id, Barisan Buruh Wanita, BBW) was a women's organization in Indonesia, founded in 1945. BBW emerged through the merger of various women's workers groups. S.K. Trimurti was the leader of BBW. BBW was linked to the Barisan ...

(BBW) was the women's wing of the party. BBW was led by S.K. Trimurti (the first Indonesian Minister of Labour, serving in

Amir Sjarifuddin Amir Sjarifuddin Harahap ( EVO: Amir Sjarifoeddin Harahap; 27 April 1907 – 19 December 1948) was an Indonesian politician and journalist who served as the second prime minister of Indonesia from 1947 until 1948. A major leader of the lef ...

's cabinet 1947-1948), who was also a member of the PBI Executive.

Dissolution

In late August 1948, a merger of PBI into the

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...

was announced. Setiadjit openly declared that he had been a longtime communist. In December 1949 one sector of the party, that had rejected the merger with the Communist Party, founded the Labour Party, led by former

Socialist Party of Indonesia The Socialist Party of Indonesia ( id, Partai Sosialis Indonesia) was a political party in Indonesia from 1948 until 1960, when it was banned by President Sukarno. Origins In December 1945 Amir Sjarifoeddin's Socialist Party of Indonesia (Pa ...

leader Iskandar Tedjasukmana.Feith, Herbert.
The Decline of Constitutional Democracy in Indonesia
'. An Equinox classic Indonesia book. Jakarta .a. Equinox, 2007. p. 144

References

{{Former Indonesian political parties 1945 establishments in Indonesia 1948 disestablishments in Indonesia Communist Party of Indonesia Defunct political parties in Indonesia Defunct socialist parties in Asia Labour parties National federations of trade unions Political parties disestablished in 1948 Political parties established in 1945 Socialist parties in Indonesia