John Pilger Exposes Indonesian Sweat Shops Backed By The IMF (20th Anniversary) | Our History

Summary

John Pilger’s documentary argues that globalization has concentrated wealth and power in multinational corporations and international financial institutions, while leaving many workers and poor countries with little benefit. It contrasts the prosperity of corporate and political elites with the poverty of people who produce goods for global brands.

Indonesian sweatshops

The film visits workers’ housing and factories producing clothing and footwear for major brands. It reports very low wages, overcrowded and unhealthy living conditions, long shifts, and pressure to work overtime. Pilger says workers receive only a tiny fraction of the retail price of the products.

Interviews with workers and unionists challenge the effectiveness of companies’ voluntary codes of conduct, particularly where unions are weak and workers fear retaliation. Gap declined an interview but supplied a statement describing its factory-monitoring programme.

Indonesia’s political and economic history

The documentary links Indonesia’s opening to foreign investment under Suharto with the mass killings that followed his rise to power in the 1960s. It alleges that Western governments and business interests supported Suharto’s regime, and that international and corporate access to Indonesia’s resources and markets expanded after the killings. It also recalls a 1967 meeting of international business leaders that discussed investment conditions in the country.

Debt, institutions, and inequality

Pilger criticizes the World Bank and IMF for promoting policies such as privatization and subsidy cuts, arguing that debt repayments and reduced public support deepen hardship. The film also points to corruption under Suharto, including claims that a substantial portion of World Bank lending was diverted.

World Bank chief economist Nicholas Stern disputes the certainty of some figures, acknowledges that the Bank’s analysis was sometimes wrong, and argues that development depends on broader economic policies, public services, and access to markets—not debt cancellation alone. Other institutional responses in the film defend the role of borrowing and economic integration.

Public protest and alternatives

The documentary places anti-globalization demonstrations—from Seattle and London to protests elsewhere—within a wider movement against privatization, corporate power, and unequal trade rules. It argues that media coverage often emphasizes protester violence while overlooking the harms activists attribute to economic policies.

The film calls for stronger democratic accountability and rules for global corporations, and questions whether existing institutions serve the public. It concludes that economic inequality and the risks associated with it are the result of choices, not inevitabilities.

Presenters and contributors

• John Pilger — presenter, reporter, and interviewer
• Dita Sari — Indonesian union leader
• Nicholas Stern — World Bank chief economist interviewed in the film
• Other contributors, not identified by name in the subtitles — Indonesian workers and unionists, institutional representatives (including a person addressed as “Mr Fisher”), activists, and other interviewees