Persatuan Buruh Kereta Api (Railway Workers Union, abbreviated PBKA) was a

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

of railway workers in

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 ...

. It was affiliated with the Kongres Buruh Seluruh Indonesia (KBSI) trade union centre. PBKA was one of the key unions of KBSI. As of March 1958, PBKA claimed a membership of 32,000. PBKA was led by Dr. Kusna. PBKA was one of few unions in Indonesia at the time with a functioning check-off system to collective membership fees. As a result, PBKA (unlike most other unions) were able to employ a sizeable full-time staff. Moreover, through the membership fees PBKA was able to provide some health and accident insurance to its members. By 1960 PBKA had become the dominant railway workers union in

West Java West Java ( id, Jawa Barat, su, ᮏᮝ ᮊᮥᮜᮧᮔ᮪, romanized ''Jawa Kulon'') is a province of Indonesia on the western part of the island of Java, with its provincial capital in Bandung. West Java is bordered by the province of Banten ...

.Hindley, Donald.
The Communist Party of Indonesia, 1951-1963
'. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1964. p. 336 PBKA and the railroad administration managed a joint Railway Workers Social Welfare Department, which gave support to forming cooperatives.Galenson, Walter.
Labor in Developing Economies
'. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1962. p. 99

References

Transport trade unions in Indonesia Railway labor unions 1966 disestablishments in Indonesia {{trade-union-stub