Labor unions step up antiprivatization campaign<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Hundreds of workers from some 15 labor unions representing
\nworkers in state-owned enterprises (SOEs) staged an
\nantiprivatization protest in Jakarta on Tuesday as part of a
\ncampaign to pressure the government to abandon the program, which
\nis seen as being crucial to the country's economic recovery
\nhopes.<\/p>\n
Secretary-general of the Federation of SOE Labor Unions Nazir
\nSafrie said that the privatization program would only inflict
\nlosses on the country, including massive layoffs.<\/p>\n
"The government just wants to sell, sell and sell the SoEs ...
\nto meet its budget targets. We are against such measures," he
\ntold reporters.<\/p>\n
He added that a privatization law must first be introduced
\nbefore the government proceeded with the sell-off program.<\/p>\n
During the one-day rally, the workers went to the presidential
\npalace and to the Office of the State Minister of State
\nEnterprises to voice their demands. But neither President
\nMegawati Soekarnoputri nor Laksamana Sukardi showed up to meet
\nthem.<\/p>\n
Labor unions participating in Tuesday's rally included those
\nfrom the West Sumatra-based cementmaker PT Semen Padang,
\ntelecommunications firms PT Indosat and PT Telkom, Bandung-based
\naircraftmaker PT Dirgantara Indonesia, and Surabaya-based
\nelectricity transmission company PT PJB.<\/p>\n
The current antiprivatization campaign could trigger larger
\nprotests with the potential to derail, or put a brake on, the
\ngovernment's privatization program.<\/p>\n
Over 120 labor activists from around the country gathering
\nhere for a labor union conference had earlier warned against
\npursuing trade liberalization and the privatization of SOEs as it
\nwould only create misery for Indonesian workers.<\/p>\n
The government has included 25 SOEs in its 2002 privatization
\nlist as part of a bid to raise around Rp 6.5 trillion (US$698
\nmillion) to help plug the state budget deficit, which is
\nestimated at Rp 42 trillion, or 2.5 percent of gross domestic
\nproduct.<\/p>\n
The House of Representatives' Commission IX on financial
\naffairs recently approved the plan, although some legislators
\nstill insisted that the government must continue to consult with
\nthem on the privatization of individual SOEs.<\/p>\n
The privatization program is also part of a deal agreed with
\nthe International Monetary Fund, which is sponsoring the
\ncountry's economic reforms. Backtracking on such a key program
\ncould strain relations between the Fund and the government, which
\nin turn would affect investor sentiment, analysts have said.<\/p>\n
The government failed to meet its privatization program target
\nlast year for various reasons, including widespread protests over
\nplans to sell a controlling stake in cementmaker PT Semen Gresik
\nto Mexican cement giant Cemex SA de CV.<\/p>\n
Separately, in Padang, West Sumatra, the Semen Padang labor
\nunion reiterated on Tuesday its opposition to the sale of Semen
\nPadang to Cemex.<\/p>\n
They said that they would launch a campaign to expel Cemex
\nofficials from the province if they dared to go ahead with their
\nacquisition plan.<\/p>\n
Semen Padang is 100 percent owned by Semen Gresik.<\/p>\n
The workers demanded that the government spin off Semen Padang
\nfrom Semen Gresik if it wished to proceed with the sale plan.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Revrisond Baswir, an economist from the Yogyakarta-
\nbased Gadjah Mada University (UGM), also said that hasty moves to
\nprivatize state enterprises would merely inflict losses on the
\npeople.<\/p>\n
The government should wait until the country's economy
\nrecovered from the crisis so as to obtain optimum proceeds from
\nthe sale of the SOEs.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/labor-unions-step-up-antiprivatization-campaign-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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