Again, the worker problem

Again, the worker problem

President Soeharto's call the other day for higher industrial
wages may sound like music to many laborer's ears. "The wage
system should not widen the social gap," the President said in a
seminar, jointly organized by the Ministry of Manpower and the
International Labor Organization.

Soeharto cautiously added that wages should not rise so high
as to damage the competitiveness of the Indonesian economy, which
benefits from cheap labor.

The question is, will or can the President's call be realized
and enforced in the near future? Given the many experiences in
the past in which many laws remain unenforced, it is
understandable enough if one is doubtful that the fate of our
workers will drastically change for the better soon.

Even after the Medan incident last month in which widespread
labor protests turned into anti-Chinese rioting, one should not
expect any immediate change for our worker's lives. Yes, now all
parties involved have pledged to improve the welfare of our
workers. But, we can see that as long as the government's basic
perception of the labor problem prevails, it will hamper a speedy
cure of the existing ills.

Many of us are inclined to believe that low wages and unfair
treatment of workers are the main factors which have triggered
most of the current labor disputes. But, suppose that these two
factors have been improved, is there any guarantee that it will
cure our labor problems? Frankly, we doubt it.

For one thing, labor is perhaps the most neglected sector in
our development program. We can boast of our successes in
development, citing impressive statistics. Yet, what is the
position of our workers at this stage? Have they received the
slice of our development pie that rightly belongs to them?

We are afraid the answer is "No." The source of the evil is,
perhaps, our traumatic experience with the communist-dominated
labor movement prior to the abortive communist coup of 1965,
which apparently continues to haunt many of our officials and
causes the government to follow a policy which strictly controls
the labor movement and gives low priority to the education of the
labor force.

Coupled with the government's industrialization policy, which
is inclined to side with the employer, the result is a disaster
for our workers. For more than 20 years, there has practically
been no serious, comprehensive policy to tackle our labor
problems.

The figures speak for themselves. According to 1990 data, more
than 76 percent of our workforce is comprised of people with only
elementary school educations. About 39 percent of our unemployed,
a staggering 38 percent of the population, are elementary or
secondary school graduates.

No wonder the majority of our workers belong to the lowest
strata of our society. Poorly educated and lacking in training,
most of them are helpless and have no bargaining power in dealing
with their employers. Aside from that, most of them are ignorant
of their rights, since organized labor is seen as something
undesirable.

Thus, if we really and sincerely want to upgrade our workers,
certain measures should be taken immediately. The first and the
most important thing is to change our perception of labor. Our
laborers should not be eyed suspiciously as a possible political
force, or for their potential as troublemakers. They are part of
our national assets and will always remain so. Certainly they
should get their share of the development pie.

More vocational training schools should be opened. Top
priority should be given to offering workers a chance to improve
their skills. Labor laws should be fairly enforced. And of
course, the worker should also not be denied his rights,
including their constitutional right of association. Everybody
knows that without association, the workers are powerless.

In short, if we start from the premise that our workers are
our partners in development, then surely they deserve to be
treated fairly and humanely and given their due. We believe that
in the end such a humane approach will benefit not only our
workers, but also their employers. And certainly this, in turn,
will serve to boost our national development efforts, which aim
to build a just and prosperous society for all Indonesians.