Violence not answer to labor rifts<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto yesterday highlighted the
\nneed for workers and managements to negotiate disputes and avoid
\nresorting to violence.<\/p>\n
Commenting on the racially-tinged labor unrest in Medan, North
\nSumatra, last week, the President urged all companies to respect
\nworkers' rights by paying them the minimum wage and allowing them
\nto set up shop level unions.<\/p>\n
He also called for a thorough investigation into the Medan
\nlabor riots, which left one businessman dead and two others
\ninjured. Two security officers were also hurt.<\/p>\n
Manpower Minister Abdul Latief reported on the labor situation
\nin Medan to President Soeharto at the Merdeka Palace yesterday.<\/p>\n
The minister reiterated his belief that the protests, which
\nled to the riot, did not truly reflect the aspirations of
\nworkers' or their struggle for rights.<\/p>\n
"Still, the President emphasized that all workers' rights have
\nto be respected in full, and that companies must abide by this
\npolicy."<\/p>\n
The riots had their origins in labor disputes going back as
\nfar as February at many manufacturing companies in Medan.<\/p>\n
The conflicts grew in the two months since as employers
\ncontinued to turn deaf ears on the demands for higher wages and
\nthen they turned riotous on April 14 when more than 20,000
\nworkers took to the streets.<\/p>\n
Soeharto said entrepreneurs have a duty to ensure harmonious
\nrelations with their workers, according to Latief yesterday.<\/p>\n
This includes allowing workers to appoint their own
\nrepresentatives of the All Indonesian Workers' Union (SPSI), he
\nadded.<\/p>\n
The presence of a union would pave the way for workers and
\nmanagement to negotiate rather than become adversaries, the
\nPresident said.<\/p>\n
In Medan, the North Sumatra security agency Bakorstanasda
\nyesterday negotiated with the Medan Legal Aid Institute (LBH) for
\nthe hand over of Amosi Telaumbanua, whom the authorities say
\ninstigated last week's riots.<\/p>\n
Amosi, who has been on the run since the first signs of
\nviolence on April 14, said in an interview with Tempo weekly
\nmagazine that he was prepared to turn himself in if provided
\nguarantees of his safety.<\/p>\n
Amosi said he had been maltreated in previous arrests which
\nwere also related to labor disputes.<\/p>\n
"We haven't reached an agreement yet," said Alamsyah Hamdani,
\nchairman of the LBH office in Medan yesterday after negotiations
\nwith Bakorstanasda.<\/p>\n
Deadline<\/p>\n
The security agency has reportedly given LBH an April 30
\ndeadline to hand over Amosi, who chairs the local chapter of the
\nIndonesian Prosperous Trade Union (SBSI), a rival organization to
\nthe government-backed SPSI.<\/p>\n
The director of the International Labor Office (ILO) in
\nJakarta, Herman Van der Laan, yesterday said the events in Medan
\ndemonstrate the failure of the basic industrial relations system.<\/p>\n
"Industrial relations mechanisms in Indonesia have not kept
\npace with the rapid rate of industrialization," he said.<\/p>\n
According to Herman, a sufficient mechanism to deal with the
\nplight of labor in the workplace does not exist, thus creating
\ntension and the physical display recently witnessed in North
\nSumatra.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) in Jakarta gave
\nits wholehearted support to the workers' demands in Medan.<\/p>\n
"It is ironic that workers are being paid less amidst the
\nsuccess of national development," YLBHI said in a statement
\nsigned by spokesman Hendardi.<\/p>\n
Director of the Institute for the Defense of Human Rights
\nH.J.C. Princen criticized the government for refusing to
\nrecognize the SBSI.<\/p>\n
"We wish to remind the government that freedom of association
\nis guaranteed by the constitution," he said. (rms\/rmn\/mds)<\/p>",
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