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)