National Industry Dialogue for responsible and sustainable electronics supply chains in Indonesia

Context and justification

The electronics industry is a vital contributor to Indonesia's economy, employing at least 300,000 people and generating almost $14 billion per year in exports. However, in recent years, its share of national GDP and employment growth has slowed amid increased competition and lagging productivity. To help reinvigorate the industry and reposition it for the future, the Indonesian government identified electronics as a strategic priority sector as part of its "Making Indonesia 4.0" policy, with a focus on upgrading innovation, technology, and workforce skills. The industry is now also facing growing pressures -and legal requirements- to meet social and environmental standards as a condition for further market access and supply chain integration.

In 2023, Indonesia launched a National Strategy for Business and Human Rights, with the Ministry of Law and Human Rights overseeing its implementation. At the same time, it also introduced a self-assessment tool, PRISMA, to help businesses benchmark and align with international human rights standards. Working through a series of Japan-funded projects, the ILO has bolstered efforts to advance RBC through decent work in Indonesia’s electronics sector, working both at the policy level to improve the enabling environment and within the supply chain, providing companies and trade unions with practical tools and support to improve working conditions and adopt (more) responsible business practices.

Building on these and other related initiatives, the ILO plans to organize a national sectoral dialogue on decent work and responsible business, to encourage industry-wide collaboration and joint action for sustainable supply chains in the electronics sector. The event will involve various stakeholders, including the Indonesian government and social partners and key players from business, academia and industry initiatives in the responsible business sphere. This event will also provide a foundation and inputs for a planned high-level ILO policy forum on trade, investment and decent work in global supply chains, scheduled for October 2025.

Objectives

The overarching objective of the dialogue is to bring together all key stakeholders to identify joint priorities and collaborative opportunities to build new forms of competitiveness and sustainability in the sector, through responsible business conduct and decent work, including skills development.

Specifically, the workshop aims to:

• Discuss the current industry context and challenges and opportunities for advancing decent work, skills development, and responsible business conduct in the Indonesian electronics sector
• Build a common understanding of the key international frameworks, especially the ILO MNE Declaration, and how it can be applied to support decent work and RBC in the electronics sector
• Share examples and/or good practices that illustrate how to (a) operationalize RBC within the sector by applying the ILO MNE Declaration, and (b) forge collaboration between supply chain partners in home and host countries to drive supply-chain wide improvements
• Explore approaches for integrating skills development into responsible business conduct in the electronics sector, to enhance workforce capabilities, drive innovation, and support inclusive industry growth.
• Build stakeholder consensus on joint priorities and agreed collaborations to drive decent work and responsible business in Indonesian electronics. 

The expected outcome is a roadmap -or the basis of such- and agreed actions for the promotion of responsible business in the Indonesian electronics sector, aligned with the country’s National Strategy on Business and Human Rights and evolving international trade and supply chain requirements. Integral to this will be guidance on how the sector can better apply the ILO MNE declaration and UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and strengthen dialogue and peer learning in the supply chain, in support of Responsible Business, Decent Work and the Sustainable Development Goals.

Participants

• Government ministries and national agencies 
• Employers' and workers' organizations (national and sectoral level)
• Domestic and multinational enterprises (MNEs) 
• Others including multilateral organizations, financial institutions, donors, chambers of commerce, trade and investment promotion agencies, etc.

Agenda

Click here to have the complete agenda.