Don't politicize manpower bill, says Abdul Latief

Don't politicize manpower bill, says Abdul Latief

JAKARTA (JP): The government ushered in the House of
Representatives' first reading of the manpower bill yesterday
with a call for workers and the public not to turn the
controversial document into a "political issue".

Minister of Manpower Abdul Latief, in an address to the
House's plenary session, also called for complete trust in the
legislators who would process the bill.

"Don't let this become a political issue that could be
exploited by certain parties to harm the interests of workers,"
he said in the session presided by Deputy House Speaker Ismail
Hasan Metareum.

Also present yesterday were representatives of the Federation
of All Indonesian Workers Union, including Wilhelmus Bokha and
Yacub Nuwawea.

Labor activists and other groups had, when the bill was
submitted earlier this year, criticized the document for stifling
workers' rights. It seeks to regulate strikes, for instance, by
stipulating that authorities must be notified at least three days
before industrial action.

In his speech yesterday, Latief acknowledged the criticism,
even if it had been delivered in a prejudiced and emotional
manner.

"We are calling on the people's representatives to
accommodate, study and consider the criticism from workers, the
trade union, non-governmental organizations, legal aid,
businesspeople, individuals, observers and experts," he said.

The bill seeks to change the law on dismissals so that they
are no longer determined by labor dispute-settlement bodies, but
by the parties involved through arbitration and mediation and
through government-appointed councils and the court.

"The councils' decision are, therefore, no longer the
government's," he said. "Before they (disputes) reach the
councils, the disputing parties can seek settlements through
arbitration and mediation."

On workers' right to assemble, Latief said the bill sought to
rule that a trade union could only be formed when it enjoyed the
support of a majority of workers. This, he argued, would help
ensure that workers' aspirations were voiced.

"Our history shows how bitterly poor our workers' fate has
been when their right to assemble was exploited for political
interests, and workers became divided," he said.

He said that workers unions had been turned into political
tools so that members' welfare had been neglected.

"Let's not repeat this bitter experience," he said. "We should
beware of certain groups, which are supported by international
movements using rights and freedom to assemble as a pretext,
because they are the ones that will divide workers."

"If this happens, then not only would workers' movements
become weak, they would also disrupt national development
programs and national stability," he said.

Child labor

The bill also seeks to allow lockouts by revoking the 1963 Law
No. 7 on the prohibition of strikes and lockouts in companies and
strategic bodies.

"Workers have the right to strike as the result of a dispute
over normative rights such as welfare improvement, and employers
have the right to counter the strikes by implementing lockouts,"
he said.

Latief said the bill also clearly seeks to prohibit company's
hiring children under 15.

Separately yesterday, an association of women's groups
protested the manpower bill, reiterating an earlier statement
that the bill curtailed workers' rights, including their
reproductive rights.

The Group of Women for Workers' Justice's latest statement
called on the House to reject the bill.

The National Commission on Human Rights has also protested the
bill. Its members agree that there could be violations of
workers' basic rights if the bill became law.

Comprising 18 chapters and 159 articles, the bill has been
drafted as an umbrella law for the 14 labor regulations made
between 1887, during the Dutch colonial administration, and 1969.

The bill covers labor policies, such as planning, information,
placements and manpower development and relations between workers
employers and government. It affects all workers, including
migrants and those working for informal businesses or nonprofit
organizations. (amd/40/swe)