'Becak' drivers form union to fight for rights
'Becak' drivers form union to fight for rights
JAKARTA (JP): Some 74 becak (pedicab) drivers, formed a union
here on Monday to fight for the right to peddle the streets of
Jakarta.
The decision was announced by drivers during a three-day
congress held in a field opposite the Gapura Angkasa Building in
Kemayoran, Central Jakarta, that started on Sunday.
The Urban Poor Consortium (UPC), a non-governmental
organization which has been fighting to legalize becak, is
assisting the congress.
"The city administration never recognizes the existence of
becak. With this organization, it has to accept that we do
exist," Tri Hartanto, a becak driver chairing the congress, told
The Jakarta Post.
Meanwhile, the authorities have cracked down on the operation
of becak in all five mayoralties.
Raya Siahaan, the head of the city's center for monitoring
social disorder, said the synchronized operations netted 68 becak
in Central Jakarta and 10 in North Jakarta.
The vehicles were flattened and sent to a warehouse in Cakung,
East Jakarta, while the drivers were released, he said.
Tri said the becak congress discussed the structure and
programs of the new organization.
The participants represented 50 becak stations in Jakarta
which have been supported by the UPC since 1998.
"The union is their weapon for struggle," said Eddy Saidi, a
UPC activist, adding that it would lobby the city administration
to legalize becak in Jakarta's streets.
The UPC has more than 10,000 people registered as becak
drivers in Jakarta.
The vehicle was formally phased out from the capital in 1988
on grounds that it was inhumane and that it was causing traffic
congestion.
Becak made their return in 1998 at the height of the economic
crisis, after Governor Sutiyoso allowed them to operate on
humanitarian grounds. However, he revoked his own decision a day
later following protests from the City Council.
The administration has since been locked in a tug-of-war with
the becak drivers, many of whom ignored the ban and have
continued to operate in many areas of the capital.
The UPC then joined in the fight to legalize becak.
Siahaan said the administration would continue campaigns
against the illegal becak.
About 95 percent of becak drivers are not Jakarta residents,
he said.
Siahaan said that the administration offered some vocational
training programs for becak drivers in possession of Jakarta ID
cards. This program attempts to provide them with new skills that
would enable them to start a different profession.
"They can learn some new skills for free," Siahaan said.
(04/07)