Cirebon rattan workers protest govt regulation<\/p>\n
Nana Rukmana, The Jakarta Post\/Cirebon<\/p>\n
A noisy protest against a government regulation was staged on
\nThursday by 5,000 rattan workers in Cirebon regency, a major
\nproducer of rattan furniture in West Java.<\/p>\n
The protesters, calling themselves the Community of Cirebon
\nRattan Workers and Craftsmen, demanded that the government repeal
\na regulation that allows unprocessed rattan to be exported. They
\nalso demanded that trade minister Mari E. Pangestu resign from
\nher post for issuing the regulation, which they said disregarded
\nthe interests of the local rattan industry.<\/p>\n
The regulation took effect on June 30.<\/p>\n
According protest coordinator Badrudin, the workers fear
\nlosing their jobs because the regulation could cause bankruptcy
\nwithin the regency's rattan industry, which is centered in
\nTegalwangi.<\/p>\n
\"The regulation poses a serious threat to the continuance of
\nthe rattan industry. The regulation will create problems in
\ngetting raw materials, which can now directly be sent abroad. In
\nthe end, our livelihoods will be shattered, and there'll be no
\nmore work for us,\" Badrudin said.<\/p>\n
The protest, staged outside the Cirebon Legislative Council
\nbuilding, was heavily guarded by security personnel. All routes
\ninto the city center were heavily congested, with hundreds of
\ntrucks carrying protesters jamming the streets.<\/p>\n
Cirebon Legislative Council Speaker Tasiya Soemadi Al Gotas
\nmet the protesters and promised to help pressure the government
\ninto reviewing the regulation.<\/p>\n
\"We will ask that all regulations that do not support the
\npeople are repealed. We'll pressure the government to pay
\nattention to people's interests, especially rattan workers,\"
\nTasiya said.<\/p>\n
Cirebon Association of Indonesian Handicraft and Furniture
\nBusinessmen chairman Sumarca said Ministry of Trade Regulation
\nNo. 12\/2005 could cause bankruptcies in the rattan industry in
\nTegalwangi.<\/p>\n
The regulation, he said, would make it hard for 1,200
\ncompanies in the industry to get raw materials, which mostly come
\nfrom outside Java, such as from Sulawesi.<\/p>\n
\"With the regulation, rattan farmers will opt to export their
\nrattan. In the end, it will make it hard for the rattan industry
\nto source raw materials,\" Sumarca said.<\/p>\n
He said that if the government insisted on retaining the
\nregulation, 400,000 rattan workers could lose their jobs if the
\ncompanies they worked for could not secure a supply of raw
\nmaterials to continue production.<\/p>\n
\"We'll ask the government to immediately repeal the
\nregulation, which disadvantages (the rattan industry),\" he said.<\/p>\n
He warned that the rattan industry might soon become history,
\nconsidering that only 127 companies were still operating. The
\nindustry's decline, he added, could also be seen from the
\ndecrease in exported rattan furniture.<\/p>\n
Previously, he said, exports reached between 1,800 and 2,000
\ncontainers per month to Europe, the U.S. and Japan. Exports
\ncurrently average 900 containers a month. \"This is the lowest
\nexport figure in the last five years,\" Sumarca said.<\/p>\n
He blamed the government for issuing the regulation
\nconsidering the already high smuggling rate of unprocessed
\nrattan. \"Even before the government issued the regulation, a lot
\nof rattan was being smuggled abroad, Now, with the regulation,
\nrattan growers will compete to sell their rattan abroad,\" Sumarca
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Indonesia is one of the biggest rattan producers in the world
\nwith a production capacity of 250,000 to 400,000 tons per year.
\nMeanwhile, local demand is estimated to be around 130,000 tons
\nper year.<\/p>\n
\"But this does not that mean Indonesia has to make it easy to
\nexport rattan abroad and destroy the local industry. The
\ngovernment should exercise wisdom,\" Sumarca said.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Cirebon Regent Dedi Suparti expressed fear that the
\nregulation would cause a slump in the local industry and increase
\nunemployment in his regency.<\/p>\n
\"Hundreds of workers have already been told to stay at home
\nbecause the rattan companies they work for are having problems
\ngetting unprocessed rattan to continue production. If this
\ncontinues, the number of unemployed people in Cirebon could
\nexplode,\" Dedi said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/cirebon-rattan-workers-protest-govt-regulation-1447893297",
"image": ""
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