Activists urge House to reject labor union bill

JAKARTA (JP): The House of Representatives is facing fresh demands to reject a bill on labor unions and instead ratify the 1948 International Labor Organization (ILO) Convention No. 87 on Freedom of Association and Protection of Workers' Right to Organize.

Speaking in a hearing with members of the House special committee deliberating the bill on Monday, activists of the Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association (PBHI) and the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH Jakarta) said the bill was aimed at restricting workers' rights.

"Articles in the bill clearly show that the government is trying to control workers. It's a violation of the freedom to organize," PBHI's deputy chairman Johnson Panjaitan said.

Johnson said the fact the bill gave the Ministry of Manpower the authority to register unions would effectively allow the government to limit workers from setting up unions.

He expressed misgivings about manpower minister Bomer Pasaribu, who chaired the government-sanctioned All Indonesia Workers Union (SPSI) under president Soeharto.

Johnson said the right to organize a strike -- which he termed a vital instrument for workers in struggling for their demands -- was missing from the bill.

"The state should not regulate too many aspects of public affairs. Let workers decide whether they want to set up a union."

LBH Jakarta's labor division head Surya Tjandra supported PBHI's recommendation and asked the House to make the ratification of the ILO convention a top priority.

"The House should make the convention a law, equipped with sanctions and a controlling body," Surya said in the hearing.

He said the protocol of the convention, which was ratified through a presidential decree by then president B.J. Habibie last year, was not enough to protect labor unions.

The government is seeking House approval of the bill, which was submitted by Bomer on Feb. 14, together with other bills which comprise ILO Convention No. 182 on Elimination and Immediate Action for Elimination of Worst Forms of Child Labor.

The trade union bill covers workers' rights to form a union, the independence of labor unions, the registration of labor unions and settlement of disputes between labor unions.

A total of 26 labor unions, including the Federation of All Indonesian Workers Union (FSPSI) and the Indonesian Prosperous Labor Union (SBSI), have registered with the ministry.

The Indonesian Legal Aid Institute Foundation (YLBHI) earlier used similar reasons in rejecting the bill.

In response to the activists' demand, House special committee deputy chairman Ibnu Munzier said the legislative body was likely to endorse the bill after making corrections.

"We have met with several labor unions. They did not reject the bill outright, but only suggested that it need improving," Munzier from the Golkar Party said. (01/jun)