Controversial bills

Controversial bills

After the press community rejected the draft bill on broadcasting, now business circles are coming out against a bill on labor. There is fear these two bills will be the death of the respective communities.

If passed into law, the broadcasting bill will have the power to curtail the freedom of the press at anytime. Deliberation of the bill has been postponed following waves of protest.

The business community is against the labor bill, which they believe will damage the investment climate. Businesspeople say that if passed into law, the labor bill will result in mass layoffs as many businesses will be forced to close down. They also say investors will put their money in other countries.

The bill is said to be unfair to employers. According to the draft bill, strikes will be considered a right of employees, while employers will be obliged to continue paying the salaries of striking workers.

According to the bill, companies will not be allowed to hire new employees to replace striking employees, who will be completely unproductive.

Those are the facts. The two draft bills have received strong opposition, but there is still a strong push to continue the deliberation of these controversial bills.

The bills were probably created for political interests. Groups in the House of Representatives have insisted that the bills be passed into law. The legislators are seeking new constituents to support their parties in the 2004 general election. So, the deliberation of these bills by the House has been spiced up by camouflaged political moves.

-- Media Indonesia, Jakarta