Labour Party (Indonesia, 1949)

{{for|other parties named "Labour Party" in Indonesia|Labour Party (disambiguation)#Indonesia}}

{{Infobox political party

| name = Labour Party

| logo = Partai buruh - election symbol on 1955 ballot paper.png

| logo_size = 140px

| colorcode = #ff3333

| chairman = Iskandar Tedjasukmana

| foundation = {{start date|1949|12|25|df=y}}

| ideology = Marxism
Nationalism

| position = Left-wing

| country = Indonesia

| dissolved = 1956 or later.

| split = Labour Party of Indonesia

}}

The Labour Party ({{langx|id|Partai Buruh}}) was a political party in Indonesia. It was formed on 25 December 1949 by a group of former Labour Party of Indonesia (PBI) members, who had disagreed with the merger of PBI into the Communist Party of Indonesia.Rose, Saul. Socialism in Southern Asia. London: Oxford University Press, 1959. p. 153Feith, Herbert. [https://books.google.com/books?id=VAH0W9uxoqoC The Decline of Constitutional Democracy in Indonesia]. An Equinox classic Indonesia book. Jakarta [u.a.]: Equinox, 2007. pp. 144-145[https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&id=BJrFsQ0SwzgC Ensiklopedi umum]{{Dead link|date=May 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}. Yogyakarta: Yayasan Kanisius, 1977. pp. 435, 790

The party had a degree of influence, as it counted on support from trade unions and had influence inside the Ministry of Labour. Iskandar Tedjasukmana was the Chairman of the Political Bureau of the party between 1951 and 1956. Iskandar Tedjasukmana represented the party in government, serving as Minister of Labour in the Sukiman, Wilopo and Burhanuddin Harahap cabinets (1951–1956).

The party was officially Marxist, but in political practice more influenced by nationalism. Inside the party leadership, there was a division between those who supported the 'oppositionist' positions of the Indonesian National Party and Murba Party, and another sector of intellectuals who were closer to the Socialist Party of Indonesia.Feith, Herbert. [https://books.google.com/books?id=5bBHQwa0z8AC The Wilopo Cabinet, 1952-1953: A Turning Point in Post-Revolutionary Indonesia]. Ithaca, N.Y.: Modern Indonesia Project, Southeast Asia Program, Dept. of Far Eastern Studies, Cornell University, 1958. pp. 70-71

When the People's Representative Council (DPR) was formed in 1950, seven of its 236 members belonged to the Labour Party.Cribb, R. B. [https://books.google.com/books?id=SawyrExg75cC Historical Dictionary of Indonesia]. Asian historical dictionaries, no. 9. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press, 1992. pp. 490-491 As of 1951, the Labour Party claimed to have 60,000 members. In March 1951, the party was one of eleven parties that formed the Consultative Body of Political Parties (BPP).Feith, Herbert. [https://books.google.com/books?id=5bBHQwa0z8AC The Wilopo Cabinet, 1952-1953: A Turning Point in Post-Revolutionary Indonesia]. Ithaca, N.Y.: Modern Indonesia Project, Southeast Asia Program, Dept. of Far Eastern Studies, Cornell University, 1958. p. 102

In 1952 trade unionists linked to the Labour Party founded the Himpunan Serikat-Serikat Buruh Indonesia trade union centre. The president of HISSBI A.M. Fatah was a Labour Party member.Tedjasukmana, Iskandar. [https://www.webcitation.org/5ko4jcfZS?url=http://www.geocities.com/simpang_kiri/hdoey/tedjasukmana.pdf Watak Politik Gerakan Serikat Buruh Indonesia]

The party obtained 224,167 votes in the 1955 legislative election (0.6% of the national vote), and won two seats in the parliament.Feith, Herbert. [https://books.google.com/books?id=VAH0W9uxoqoC The Decline of Constitutional Democracy in Indonesia]. An Equinox classic Indonesia book. Jakarta [u.a.]: Equinox, 2007. p. 435 After the election the party joined the Fraction of Upholders of the Proclamation, a heterogenous parliamentary group with ten MPs.Feith, Herbert. [https://books.google.com/books?id=VAH0W9uxoqoC The Decline of Constitutional Democracy in Indonesia]. An Equinox classic Indonesia book. Jakarta [u.a.]: Equinox, 2007. p. 472