Employers don't always get their way
Employers don't always get their way
JAKARTA (JP): Employers don't always have their way when it comes to disputes with workers, contrary to what labor activists and union leaders claimed, according to a leader of the association of employers (APINDO).
R. Mujianto said more employers lodged complaints with the government's national labor arbitrary body last year, and not all the body's ruling were in favor of management.
"It is commonly, but wrongly, perceived that the government takes our side and defends our interests. People don't believe that the government is neutral," Mujianto told The Jakarta Post.
The national labor arbitration body in Jakarta, which is run by the Ministry of Manpower, last year received 481 complaints filed by employers, 350 complaints by workers and 47 others filed simultaneously by workers and managements.
Labor disputes that cannot be settled by workers and managements are first referred to the local arbitration body in the province. If the ruling of the local body is unsatisfactory, the parties in the dispute can appeal to the national arbitration body in Jakarta.
I. Wayan Nedeng, the chairman of the national arbitrary labor committee, told The Jakarta Post that most of the cases that came to his office were about dismissals and industrial relation problems, including disputes about wages and allowances. But there were also cases of workers' misconduct, thefts, embezzlements and physical violence.
Mujianto said there was a tendency for the local arbitrary committee at the provincial levels to rule in favor of workers.
This, he said, is one of the reasons why more companies filed appeals to the central arbitrary body last year.
Some employers could not accept that they were faulted for dismissing workers who committed major errors in their jobs or the fact that they had to give huge severance pay to such workers, he said, citing some of the cases filed last year.
Other employers were also disputing the government's ruling that they were obliged to pay additional allowances after complying with the government's minimum wage regulations.
Mujianto believed that the government had been as neutral as it could be expected in dealing with labor disputes because there were also times when it ruled in favor of employers.
He saluted the government decision to allow companies time to adjust before complying with the minimum wage regulations.
Some companies, he said, have had difficulties in meeting the minimum wage regulations, particularly during business downturns. (03)