'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)