Privatization 'must not ignore workers'<\/p>\n
Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
As opposition from workers to privatization drives mounts,
\nscholars are calling for more dialog and a longer preparation
\nperiod before a state-owned enterprise is privatized.<\/p>\n
They also urge the government to draw a clear line between
\ncompanies that are for sale and those it wants to keep.<\/p>\n
\"Privatization in any country brings layoffs. There must be
\ndialog between the employer and the workers because it is a very
\nsensitive situation,\" said Dradjad H. Wibowo of the Institute for
\nDevelopment, Economics, and Finance (Indef) here on Monday.<\/p>\n
According to Dradjad, the preparation needed before the
\nprivatization took place not only covered technical and financial
\naspects, but social and political ones too.<\/p>\n
Employers ought to inform workers about what their future
\nmight be after the company was privatized, he said.<\/p>\n
\"Maybe, employers can offer early pensions or partnerships to
\nthe workers. Principally, the companies should develop
\nentrepreneurship in the workers,\" Dradjad told The Jakarta Post
\nby phone.<\/p>\n
Dradjad was asked to comment on the opposition to
\nprivatization articulated by nearly 120 labor activists during a
\nnational conference here on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Closing their three-day national conference, the labor
\nactivists jointly rejected the privatization of state-owned
\nenterprises.<\/p>\n
Dita Indah Sari, one activist, said free trade and
\nprivatization had not brought prosperity, equality or peace, but
\nonly misery to Indonesian workers.<\/p>\n
Such opposition, Dradjad said, was to be expected, as it had
\nalso taken place in Australia when the government planned to sell
\nQantas, an airline company.<\/p>\n
The opposition later died down after the privatization process
\nwas shown to be a success, he added.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Boni Setiawan from the Institute for Global Justice
\nsuggested that the government differentiate between those state
\ncompanies acceptable for privatization and those that were not.<\/p>\n
According to Boni, state companies that managed essential
\npublic services, such as electricity, transportation or water
\nsupply, ought not to be sold to private companies.<\/p>\n
\"I think it would be better to boost the performance of the
\nstate companies rather than selling them to private companies,\"
\nBoni told the Post.<\/p>\n
Both Dradjad and Boni agreed that state companies within the
\nagriculture sector (PTP) ought to be privatized because they had
\nbecome a haven for corruption.<\/p>\n
The government has planned this year to sell 25 state
\ncompanies to the private sector in a move to earn Rp 6.5 trillion
\nto plug the budget deficit.<\/p>\n
Among the state companies listed for sale are PT Indo Farma
\n(pharmaceuticals), PT Pupuk Kaltim (fertilizers), PT Krakatau
\nSteel (steel), PT Telkom and PT Indosat (telecommunications), PT
\nAngkasa Pura II (airports), and PT Pelindo (seaports).<\/p>\n
The government also planned to sell PT Tambang Timah Bukit
\nAsam (mining), PT Semen Gresik (cement), and PT Kimia Farma
\n(pharmaceuticals).<\/p>\n
Dradjad reiterated that before privatization took place the
\ngovernment should first of all study if any companies were
\nsocially or politically sensitive to local people.<\/p>\n
He added that the process of privatization should not be
\ncarried out purely to obtain money to plug the state deficit.<\/p>\n
\"If the privatization process were solely aimed at reaching
\nthe target, it would ignore the social and political aspects,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/privatization-must-not-ignore-workers-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}