Aprisindo seeks fair remuneration system

Aprisindo seeks fair remuneration system

JAKARTA (JP): Labor-intensive footwear companies called on the
government on Wednesday to do away with minimum wages and set a
fair remuneration system to help them become more competitive in
global trade.

The Indonesian Footwear Association (Aprisindo) said the
monthly minimum wages were unfair because they had been set
without considering the companies' financial conditions and low
quality of human resources.

Companies in this sector claim they have been hard hit by the
prolonged economic crisis.

"We really want a fair remuneration system that will benefit
both the workers and the employers. The current system, which is
applied in the form of monthly minimum wages, is unfair and
unapplicable because newly recruited workers and those who have
worked for many months are treated equally," Aprisindo Chairman
Anton J. Supit said in a discussion on labor here on Wednesday.

Anton said footwear companies had no objection to the monthly
minimum wage system and the requirement to pay workers higher if
they proved to be productive as it would make their products more
competitive.

"But the majority of workers in the footwear sector are
elementary school graduates and junior high school dropouts ...
and investing in the country is considered unsafe because of the
rampant violent labor strikes," he said.

He said that workers in the sector could produce only two or
three pairs daily, while those in China and Vietnam produced an
average of five pairs per day.

"This means that working ethos among our workers is low, as is
their productivity," he said.

He said workers with more than two years' experience in the
sector were paid between Rp 600,000 (US$70.50) and Rp 700,000
($82.30) per month, but most did not want to try to improve their
productivity.

Anton said 87 out of 178 footwear companies had gone bankrupt
and 300,000 workers had been laid off over the last three years
because of the prolonged economic crisis.

The footwear sector is expected to revive this year, he said,
adding that Indonesia's total export was expected to reach $2.2
billion this year.

Footwear exports dropped from $2 billion in 1996 to $600
million 1997 and $1.9 billion in 1999.

Nike issue

Asked about the antiexploitation campaign against Nike sports
shoes at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Anton said labor conditions
at Nike's 11 contract companies in Indonesia was not as poor as
had been reported.

"It's an international conspiracy between local labor unions
and non-governmental organizations overseas to discredit both
Nike products and their producing companies in Indonesia," he
said.

He invited the NGOs and sports organizations to come to
Indonesia.

"The companies' licenses should be revoked if their labor
conditions prove to be as poor as has been reported.

"The workers' salaries at Nike contract companies are
relatively better than at other companies which produce other
famous brands," he said, while citing the gross monthly salaries
at Nike contract companies were between Rp 550,000 and Rp
700,000.

He added that workers had unions and the companies complied
with the labor law. There is also a collective labor agreement
that is renewed biannually.

Separately, the Forum of Nike Workers in Indonesia similarly
denied the allegation of bad working conditions, saying
conditions at their companies were relatively good.

Djoko, the forum chairman, admitted that the companies had
made some mistakes, but said labor conditions in general were
better than the minimum required by the government.

"The issues on human rights abuses and labor exploitation were
intentionally raised by Jim Keady, who represents a foreign NGO,
in a dispute with the Oregon-based Nike International," he said
without elaborating. (rms)