{
    "success": true,
    "data": {
        "id": 1102322,
        "msgid": "jacob-concedes-tough-fight-in-defending-workers-rights-1447893297",
        "date": "2001-10-16 00:00:00",
        "title": "Jacob concedes tough fight in defending workers' rights",
        "author": null,
        "source": "JP",
        "tags": null,
        "topic": null,
        "summary": "Jacob concedes tough fight in defending workers' rights Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan, North Sumatra Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Jacob Nuwa Wea admitted on Saturday that his office was losing ground in its efforts to defend workers' rights. Jacob said that many companies continued to deny workers their rights, such as decent salaries, vacations and the right to form unions, and the government could do little to help the workers.",
        "content": "<p>Jacob concedes tough fight in defending workers' rights<\/p>\n<p>Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan, North Sumatra<\/p>\n<p>Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Jacob Nuwa Wea<br>\nadmitted on Saturday that his office was losing ground in its<br>\nefforts to defend workers' rights.<\/p>\n<p>Jacob said that many companies continued to deny workers their<br>\nrights, such as decent salaries, vacations and the right to form<br>\nunions, and the government could do little to help the workers.<\/p>\n<p>\"Practically, the establishment of workers' unions as mandated<br>\nby Law No. 21\/2000 remains elusive,\" he told The Jakarta Post.<br>\nafter meeting with workers' activists in Medan.<\/p>\n<p>Labor conflicts arising from employers' hostility toward<br>\nunions stemmed from the ministry's failure to oversee enforcement<br>\nof the law, he conceded. \"Many officials of the ministry collude<br>\nwith employers to thwart workers' efforts to set up labor<br>\nunions.\"<\/p>\n<p>Jacob, who is also chairman of the Federation of All<br>\nIndonesian Workers Unions (FSPSI), acknowledged he needed more<br>\ntime to put his house in order.<\/p>\n<p>Jacob has been in office for 50 days.<\/p>\n<p>\"It's very difficult to eradicate the corruption, collusion<br>\nand nepotism that are rampant at the ministry. The official-<br>\nbusinesses collusion has been done in a sophisticated way,\" he<br>\nsaid.<\/p>\n<p>Jacob promised to make public all the corruption cases at the<br>\nministry on his 100th day in office and said all recalcitrant<br>\nofficials would get their due punishment.<\/p>\n<p>When addressing the meeting with labor activists, Jacob said<br>\nthe regional autonomy policy, which has been in effect for almost<br>\na year, had hampered coordination between offices in Jakarta and<br>\nthose in the regencies.<\/p>\n<p>\"The ministry's officials in the regencies are no longer<br>\nanswerable to me but to the mayor or regent. Unfortunately, the<br>\nlocal bureaucrats do not really understand labor affairs,\" he<br>\nsaid.<\/p>\n<p>In North Sulawesi, for example, the chief of the local<br>\nmanpower office is a former family planning official.<\/p>\n<p>\"Appointment of unqualified officials will only aggravate<br>\ncorruption because they don't know their job,\" he said.<\/p>",
        "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/jacob-concedes-tough-fight-in-defending-workers-rights-1447893297",
        "image": ""
    },
    "sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
    "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}