Special talks held to clear hurdles on manpower bill<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Legislators revealed yesterday that they had
\nconducted informal talks with the central government during the
\ncurrent House recess, to clear hurdles in their deliberation of a
\ncontroversial manpower bill.<\/p>\n
A member of the House's special committee in charge of the
\nmanpower bill's deliberation, Lili Asdjudiredja, told The Jakarta
\nPost yesterday that extra meetings were to help \"seek a
\ncompromise over different views on crucial substances of the
\nbill\".<\/p>\n
The closed meetings were held at the Horizon Hotel, North
\nJakarta, between July 25 and July 30.<\/p>\n
Lili defended the meetings, saying they were not in violation
\nof the House's internal regulations.<\/p>\n
\"The leadership of all four House factions approved the
\nmeetings, but we didn't make any decision during the talks,\" said
\nLili who is a member of the ruling Golkar faction.<\/p>\n
During the meetings the government was represented by Director
\nGeneral for Industrial Relations and Labor Standards Soewarto.<\/p>\n
Another committee member, Muhsin Bafadal of the United
\nDevelopment Party, said the meetings were to help House
\nlegislators beat the deadline set for the bill's deliberation.<\/p>\n
The government has pushed legislators to pass the bill before
\ntheir term ends on Sept. 30. The House is currently in recess
\nuntil Aug. 16.<\/p>\n
\"Let's just say the meetings served as a forum for lobbying.
\nWe were afraid we couldn't debate the bill enough (before the
\ndeadline),\" Muhsin said.<\/p>\n
He said the informal talks were a success because of a
\ngovernment commitment to accommodate \"public demands\" in the
\nbill.<\/p>\n
\"About 70 percent of demands lodged by the public and non-
\ngovernment organizations prior to deliberation may be included in
\nthe bill,\" he said without further elaboration.<\/p>\n
Lili said among crucial issues in the talks on the bill were
\nworkers' rights to set up trade unions and to strike.<\/p>\n
The new bill proposes that a trade union can only be set up if
\nit has the approval of a majority of workers at a factory. The
\npresent law, enacted in 1969, requires only a minimum of 25
\npeople to support such a union.<\/p>\n
The bill also allows employers to withhold wages from workers
\nwho strike. Research conducted in 1993 and 1994 by the Jakarta
\nLegal Aid Institute revealed that 90 percent of strikes in
\nGreater Jakarta dealt with salary problems.<\/p>\n
\"Such informal talks are needed because each House faction and
\nthe government has its own stand on the issues. It's obvious that
\nwe are heading in the same direction after the meetings,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
He predicts that the House and the government will be able to
\nreach an agreement when they regroup for the bill's deliberation
\non Aug. 18.<\/p>\n
The House will resume Aug. 16 with a plenary session to hear
\nPresident Soeharto's state-of-the-nation speech on the eve of
\nIndependence Day.<\/p>\n
News of the closed talks on the bill drew criticism, with
\nApong Herlina of the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute saying it had
\nprevented the public from monitoring the talks.<\/p>\n
\"There are many controversial issues concerning public
\ninterests that need to be adjusted. People have the right to know
\nhow the deliberation will proceed,\" Apong told the Post.<\/p>\n
She said that although no decision was made during the
\nmeetings, they might result in some consensus between the House
\nand the government on crucial issues of the bill.<\/p>\n
\"It is regrettable if consensus was reached behind closed
\ndoors,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Apong predicted that the bill's set deadline would only
\ngenerate a law that would lack protection for Indonesian workers,
\nin the face of expatriates, who would have easier access to
\nIndonesia's job market during the free trade era of the 21st
\ncentury.<\/p>\n
\"The House shouldn't have to be pressured by the deadline,
\nbecause the bill deals with Indonesian workers' rights.
\nDeliberation should be handled by the next House,\" she said.
\n(amd)<\/p>",
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