Almost no press company has union<\/p>\n
Tony Hotland, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Despite widespread coverage of labor rights and trade union by
\nthe press, it is a kind of irony that almost none of mass media
\norganizations has one for their employees.<\/p>\n
A research by the Alliance of Independent Journalists early
\nlast year found that out of over 1,000 press companies in
\nIndonesia, only three had trade unions registered at the Ministry
\nof Manpower and Transmigration.<\/p>\n
"They were SCTV station in Jakarta, Waspada in Medan, and
\nSurya Group in Surabaya," said Jajang Djamaluddin of the alliance
\nin a press conference here Thursday.<\/p>\n
When contacted by The Jakarta Post, however, SCTV said that
\nits trade union had been dissolved due to unclear reasons.<\/p>\n
This scarcity of trade unions within press companies, said
\nJajang, was mostly the result of an immense fear on the part of
\ncompany management over a possibility that their power could be
\nundermined.<\/p>\n
Those employers were so allergic to trade or labor unions
\nbecause they (employers) feared that such an organization would
\nonly oppose for them due to the legal power the organizations
\npossess.<\/p>\n
"They're also worried that such an organization would only
\nfret about its rights and overlook its obligation," said Jajang.<\/p>\n
The research also found that although there were companies
\nthat had some kind of trade unions (28 companies), they were in
\nthe forms of informal organization without legal status.<\/p>\n
Registered trade unions are entitled to rights to question
\ndecisions taken by the management and to solicit support from the
\nmanpower ministry for advocacy and mediation.<\/p>\n
Unlike registered trade unions, informal employee
\norganizations can only perform as mediators between the
\nmanagement and the employees, and cannot act on behalf of the
\nwhole employees.<\/p>\n
"Even with such a small amount, many of these informal
\norganizations are mostly idle. Unless, a critical event occurs
\nsuch as dismissals or bankruptcy," Jajang said.<\/p>\n
He added that most of these informal organizations emerged
\nafter the 1998 economic crisis when many companies, including
\npress companies, were forced to shut down and fire their workers.<\/p>\n
Jajang said the establishment of a legal trade union in a
\ncompany should be easily achieved since it could pave the way for
\nthe enactment of a joint working agreement.<\/p>\n
In this agreement, both parties (employees and employers)
\nspell out the rights and obligations of each party. "Should any
\nparty violate the agreement, it has legal and recognized rights
\nfor a litigation," he said.<\/p>",
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