Govt to take steps against discrimination at work<\/p>\n
Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The government is increasing the number of its supervisors at
\ncompanies from one per 1,000 firms to one per 50 and is planning
\nto ratify more conventions to help eradicate discrimination in
\nthe workplace.<\/p>\n
Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Jacob Nuwa Wea said on
\nMonday that the increase in government supervisors at firms was
\nnecessary to ensure that a company did not engage in
\ndiscriminative practices.<\/p>\n
\"Companies dare to violate manpower rulings particularly
\nconcerning discrimination due to the absence of government
\nsupervisors there,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"If the number of government supervisors is increased, the
\nregulation will be more effective.\"<\/p>\n
He was speaking before attending the release of a report,
\nDiscrimination in the world of work: A brief look at the
\nsituation in Indonesian, from the Jakarta office of the
\nInternational Labor Organization.<\/p>\n
Minister of Women's Empowerment Sri Redjeki Soemaryoto and
\nactress Nurul Arifin also attended the release of the report.<\/p>\n
Jacob said his ministry in cooperation with regional
\nadministrations planned to organize training for new supervisors
\nat firms.<\/p>\n
\"The fund for the recruitment will be taken from the state and
\nregional government budgets,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Besides placing more supervisors at firms, the government
\nplanned to ratify more international conventions concerning
\ndiscrimination at work, Jacob said.<\/p>\n
Without providing the details, ILO said that in the second
\nsemester of this year the Indonesian government will have
\nratified the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and
\nCultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and
\nPolitical Rights.<\/p>\n
There is also a plan to ratify the Optional Protocol on the
\nConvention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women in
\n2005, ILO said.<\/p>\n
Indonesia has ratified several ILO conventions on
\nantidiscrimination such as freedom of association and protection
\nof the right to organize convention, the forced labor convention,
\nminimum wage convention, worst forms of child labor convention
\nand the right to organize and collective bargaining convention.<\/p>\n
ILO has released a statement saying that discrimination in the
\nworkplace in Indonesia was on the rise, with discrimination
\nagainst woman topping the list.<\/p>\n
Citing Central Statistics Agency (BPS) data, the average
\nincome for women was only 68 percent of the average salary for
\nmen.<\/p>\n
Discrimination based on age, race and religion, as well as
\npeople living with HIV\/AIDS and the disabled is also increasing,
\nit said.<\/p>\n
Despite the increase in cases of discrimination, the ILO
\npraised the government's efforts to combat discrimination.<\/p>\n
It said that it was a sign that the country was trying to
\nuphold women's rights in the workplace.<\/p>\n
For example, the 2000 Human Rights Law specifically states
\nthat every worker, regardless of gender, has the right to equal
\npay for equal work, and the right to equal work conditions.<\/p>\n
The recently endorsed Labor Protection Law also removes the
\nprohibition on women working in mines or with heavy machinery.<\/p>\n
Separately, worker activist Ari Sunarijati of the Reformed All
\nIndonesian Workers Union (SPSI Reformasi) expressed concern over
\nrampant discrimination against women in the workplace
\nparticularly in connection with salary.<\/p>\n
\"The government considers a married woman a single person,
\ntherefore the woman will pay high tax while she receives no
\nallowance for her children. Such a practice should be
\neliminated,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Hasanuddin Rahman of the Indonesian Employers Association
\n(Apindo) claimed the organization did not treat women workers
\naccording to the government's controversial ruling.<\/p>\n
\"As long as a woman worker can prove that she is a widow or
\nher husband is jobless, she will be given the same salary and
\nallowances as a man,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Besides, Apindo recommends that its members recruit top level
\nmanagers based on competence, not on gender, to avoid
\ndiscrimination, he added.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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