Companies, mostly from South Korea, Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong, have invested to take advantage of Indonesia's low production costs and unfulfilled export quotas. Later that year, a third zone, PIER, was built in East Java. The fourth, the Batarn Industrial Zone, is also located on East Java. Most of Indonesia's EPZ factories produce garments and shoes.
Corruption is a major problem in the EPZs, especially in the bonded zones.
EPZ women workers endure intolerable working conditions and long working hours. Meanwhile, the price of basic goods and fuel widely fluctuates. SBSl's Chairman, Muchtar Pakpahan, was sentenced to four years in jail in the wake of the Medan riot in April 1994. But the government is reluctant to close down the union altogetherbecause of international attention. Since unionisation is so heavily repressed, workers usually organise strikes with the help of NGOs.