Manpower bill talks in progress<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Legislators deliberating the widely-criticized
\nmanpower bill claimed yesterday they have achieved progress by
\nincluding a provision that the establishment of workers' unions
\nis to be regulated by a separate law.<\/p>\n
The legislators argued that the provision will help ensure
\nthat the bill, if passed, will protect workers' rights.<\/p>\n
Zain Badjeber of the United Development Party (PPP), Tadjuddin
\nNoer Said of the dominant Golkar, and Minister of Manpower Abdul
\nLatief agreed yesterday that they have reached some agreement.<\/p>\n
They were speaking separately after the first day of the
\ngovernment-sponsored bill's open deliberation at the House of
\nRepresentatives yesterday.<\/p>\n
\"We've agreed that some principles regarding workers' unions
\nwill be regulated in a (different and yet to be drawn up) law,\"
\nBedjeber told reporters after meeting representatives of 1,000
\nfactory workers who demonstrated outside the House during the
\nbill's deliberation.<\/p>\n
\"There's no need to worry even if the bill passes right now,
\nbecause it has opened the possibility for another law that will
\nprotect workers,\" Tadjuddin separately said.<\/p>\n
The bill's progress, according to Tadjuddin, has given workers
\na \"constitutional margin\" which could be beneficial in the
\nfuture.<\/p>\n
\"Even though the present bill does not cover all workers'
\ninterests, it's at least not the end,\" Tadjuddin said, without
\nelaborating.<\/p>\n
While Latief said: \"The government is hopeful that the bill
\nwill become a platform or framework for future laws regarding
\nworkers, so that workers will be aware of their position.\"<\/p>\n
Latief said yesterday's deliberation of the bill with the
\nHouse was \"democratic and balanced\" and that the government was
\n\"accommodative\" toward aspirations raised by legislators, workers
\nand labor advocates.<\/p>\n
Latief pointed out yesterday's demonstration of over 1,000
\nworkers of the All-Indonesia Workers Union Federation (Federasi
\nSPSI) coming from about 50 companies in Jakarta and Bekasi as an
\nexample of a democratic way of channeling aspirations.<\/p>\n
Demonstration coordinators said that yesterday's demonstration
\n-- which will be repeated until next Thursday in gradually larger
\nnumbers of workers -- was a \"sympathetic action\" staged to give
\nmorale support for legislators to fight for their cause.<\/p>\n
Approval<\/p>\n
Since its introduction to the House earlier this year, the
\nbill has been criticized for allegedly neglecting workers'
\nrights. For instance, the bill stipulated that workers could only
\ngo on strike after giving three days' advance notice.<\/p>\n
It also stipulated that a trade union could only be set up if
\nit had the approval of the majority of workers at a factory. The
\ncurrent manpower law, enacted in 1969, requires only a minimum of
\n25 people to support such a union.<\/p>\n
Asked whether the government agreed to comply with the House
\non the matter, Latief said: \"It still has to be decided ... but
\nthe government will be accommodative. That workers' unions are to
\nbe regulated by a law is also the government's initiative, isn't
\nit?\"<\/p>\n
PPP's minutes of the deliberation mentioned that further
\nregulations on workers' unions would be under a law.<\/p>\n
Another controversial article in the bill was one that allowed
\nemployers to withhold wages from striking workers.<\/p>\n
Research conducted in 1993 and 1994 by the Jakarta Legal Aid
\nInstitute revealed that 90 percent of strikes in Greater Jakarta
\ndealt with salary problems.<\/p>\n
Yesterday's deliberation surprised many journalists who were
\ncovering the session because of the speediness of legislators
\ngiving their approval on several items debated.<\/p>\n
However, Zain said the House would not force itself to pass
\nthe bill in a hurry, but would be thankful to God if they could
\nfinish it before the current House term ends on Sept. 30.<\/p>\n
There has been speculation that the government has been
\npushing legislators to pass the bill before their term ends,
\nespecially when there were closed meetings to debate the bill at
\nthe Horison Hotel, North Jakarta, between July 25 and July 30,
\nduring a House recess.<\/p>\n
In a related development, the Jakarta State Administrative
\nCourt rejected a lawsuit yesterday filed by workers of a textile
\ncompany against the Directorate General of Industrial Relations
\nand Control of the Ministry of Manpower which approved a late
\nrequest for postponement of a wage increase by the company.<\/p>\n
Judge Tengku Abdurahman Husni ruled that the approval was not
\nagainst the law even though the request should have been
\nsubmitted a month before the implementation of the Minister of
\nManpower's decree on minimum wage on Apr. 1, 1996. (05\/aan)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/manpower-bill-talks-in-progress-1447893297",
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