Fired workers turning to LBH for counsel<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): At least 10,000 dismissed workers from Greater
\nJakarta visited the capital's Legal Aid Institute (LBH Jakarta)
\nbetween January and Nov. 18 to ask for legal advice in disputes
\nwith their employers, a lawyer said on Thursday.<\/p>\n
The head of LBH Jakarta's labor division, Surya Tjandra, said
\nthe dismissed workers were part of a total of 16,655 workers who
\nvisited his office in search of help to settle disputes with
\ntheir employers.<\/p>\n
The 16,655 workers who visited LBH Jakarta's office were
\nclassified as having been involved in 438 labor disputes,
\nincluding 201 cases dealing with dismissal problems, Surya said.<\/p>\n
\"Almost half of the workers who lost their jobs were dismissed
\nby their employers because of the prolonged monetary crisis. It's
\nthe easiest reason for employers to fire their workers,\" Surya
\ntold The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
Of the total number of cases handled by the institute, he said
\n25 dealt with workers who were forced by their employers to
\nresign.<\/p>\n
He said some of the disputes were settled amicably but others
\nended up in court.<\/p>\n
He said that in helping to settle the disputes, the institute
\nusually summoned the employers to discuss their problems together
\nwith the workers before taking the cases to court if they did not
\nreach an agreement.<\/p>\n
\"Bringing a case to court is the last resort because it will
\ntake a long time for the courts to decide the case,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Surya did not mention how many cases had been won by the
\nworkers and how many were still being processed by the courts.<\/p>\n
But, he said, many of the cases had been settled after the
\nemployers were pressed by workers' demonstrations.<\/p>\n
\"Many cases turned out favorably for the workers after they
\nstaged demonstrations. This did not happen in previous years as
\ndemonstrations were rarely conducted,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Surya said his office also handled 33 cases dealing with the
\nsending of labor overseas, particularly to Malaysia and Saudi
\nArabia.<\/p>\n
He said that so far there were no specific laws or regulations
\nprotecting the rights of Indonesian migrant workers and their
\nfamilies.<\/p>\n
The other labor cases supervised by the institute this year
\nwere linked to contract violations, suspensions, pensions,
\nminimum wage violations, freedom to join worker unions and state
\nworker insurance company through Jamsostek, he said.<\/p>\n
By comparison, in the corresponding period last year, the
\ninstitute supervised only 280 labor cases which involved 3,340
\nworkers, he said.<\/p>\n
He added that 248 of the cases had been settled, while the
\nremaining 32 cases were still being handled by the institute.
\n(jun)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/fired-workers-turning-to-lbh-for-counsel-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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