Labor leaders reject govt decision on minimum wages<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Labor leaders rejected yesterday the
\ngovernment's decision not to raise monthly minimum wages for
\n1998\/1999, citing possible unrest among workers.<\/p>\n
Chairmen of the 13 sectoral trade unions in the All-Indonesia
\nWorkers Union (SPSI) urged the government to reverse the decision
\nand allow workers to directly negotiate their pay with employers.<\/p>\n
Suradi Idris, chairman of the textile and leather workers
\ntrade union, said many employers in his sector abandoned ongoing
\nnegotiations with their workforces after Minister of Manpower
\nTheo L. Sambuaga made the announcement on Monday. The decision
\nwas made and endorsed in a meeting between the government,
\nrepresentatives of the employers association, and the chairman
\nand secretary-general of SPSI.<\/p>\n
\"Who will be responsible if workers stop working and take to
\nthe streets to demand a rise in minimum wages tomorrow or next
\nweek?\" he warned.<\/p>\n
He said workers could no longer endure the monetary crisis
\nbecause their purchasing power had dropped by at least 30 percent
\nover the last six months.<\/p>\n
\"The decision not to raise minimum wages might provoke workers
\nto take to streets and, worse, join with the student movement
\ndemanding lower prices of basic commodities and political and
\neconomic reform,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The 13 sectoral unions covering banking and insurance;
\ncigarette, tobacco, food and beverages; metal, electronics and
\nmachines; construction and public works; pharmaceuticals and
\nhealth; logging and forestry; textile and leathers; seamen;
\ntransportation; printing; publishing and press; chemicals, energy
\nand mining; and agriculture and plantations.<\/p>\n
Ch. David, chairman of the transportation trade union, argued
\nmost Indonesian employers would be able to raise minimum wages by
\n20 percent because financially trouble companies had already
\nreceived permission to keep minimum wages at current levels.<\/p>\n
He said minimum wages in the textile, electronics, cigarette
\nand plantations sectors had been raised thanks to peaceful
\nnegotiations between employers and their workforces.<\/p>\n
Wages in the plantation sector were raised by 16 percent, the
\ntextile sector by between 16 percent and 20 percent, the
\ncigarette, tobacco, beverage and food sector by between 13
\npercent to 18 percent, and in the electronics sector by 40
\npercent.<\/p>\n
David said the 13 sectoral trade unions, through their
\ninternational network, would lobby the International Monetary
\nFund (IMF) to press the government to improve workers' welfare.<\/p>\n
The Legal Aid Institute in Surabaya also called on the
\ngovernment to review its decision, saying it was a violation of
\nhuman rights. The institute said workers should be adequately
\npaid during the monetary crisis.<\/p>\n
The sectoral trade unions also demanded the SPSI be
\nrestructured following its failure to press the government to
\nraise minimum wage levels.<\/p>\n
\"The union should be reorganized because the present team,
\nchaired by Datuk Bagindo, has failed to convey the sectoral trade
\nunions' aspirations to the government, the legislative body and
\nthe Association of Indonesian Employers on a number of
\noccasions,\" David said.<\/p>\n
\"The union is not a political organization. It is a labor
\norganization that should fight for workers' interests,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The union has twice been reorganized since it was founded in
\n1973.<\/p>\n
The labor union, a confederation of various industrial unions,
\nwas reorganized into the All-Indonesia Workers Union (SPSI) in
\n1985. It became a federation in 1993.<\/p>\n
Union chairman Datuk Bagindo said: \"If they want
\nrestructuring, that's no problem. However, they should not make
\ndecisions in such an emotional state.\"<\/p>\n
Datuk Bagindo said he could understand why the sectoral trade
\nunions rejected the government decision and had attacked him for
\nendorsing it. He begged, however, that they show understanding
\nfor the difficult position he was in, and why he had to endorse
\nthe decision.<\/p>\n
\"I made no personal gain through endorsing the decision, and I
\nhave not been paid for my services to the union. So, if the
\nsectoral trade unions want to reorganize the union, they can do
\nit,\" said Datuk Bagindo, who is also chairman of the logging and
\nforestry trade union. (rms)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/labor-leaders-reject-govt-decision-on-minimum-wages-1447893297",
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