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.