Fahmi says required membership in Korpri a thing of the past
Fahmi says required membership in Korpri a thing of the past
JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Civil Servants Corp (Korpri)
changed its status to a labor union two months ago, with
membership now optional among civil servants, Minister of
Manpower Fahmi Idris said on Monday.
Speaking after meeting President B.J. Habibie at Merdeka
Palace, he said civil servants were free to set up their own
union as a consequence of the government's ratification of the
International Labor Organization (ILO) convention on freedom of
association last year.
Korpri's 11 million members include employees of state-run
firms. Membership was formerly mandatory.
"There are already eight state companies which employees have
registered to form their own labor unions," Fahmi said.
He said he issued a ministerial decree to follow up the
ratification, which took place a month after Habibie replaced
Soeharto in May 1998.
"Now Korpri is just like other labor unions," said Fahmi.
Minister of Information Lt. Gen. Muhammad Yunus disbanded
Korpri at his ministry this month, saying the official civil
servant corps was of no use.
Employees have complained that obligations include payment of
least Rp 500 monthly, in addition to other fees.
Yunus, who has become known for his strong support of press
freedom, said the decision to dissolve the organization was based
on the decision of the Korpri members themselves, who unanimously
voted against the presence of the organization.
Korpri chairman Feisal Tamin was upset and said any civil
servant who quit Korpri could be regarded as having quitting the
civil service. Yunus said civil servants were appointed by the
government, not by Korpri.
Politicians and even state officials have admitted Korpri's
main function during New Order regime was to serve as Golkar's
political tool. There was an understood "obligation" for its
members, along with their relatives, to vote for Golkar.
Also relied upon to boost Golkar votes were members of the
compulsory organization for civil servants' wives, Dharma Wanita,
whose existence also has come in for criticism.
In the recent elections, civil servants were no longer obliged
to vote for Golkar and ballots were not cast in offices. In the
past, civil servants said voting in the workplace assured that if
they would be discovered if they voted for a party other than
Golkar.
Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso is among officials who have felt the
impact of the newfound freedom of employees of state-owned
companies. A new labor union at city-owned water company PDAM
Jaya has held a string of protests demanding the company revoke
the allegedly corrupt cooperation agreement with two foreign
firms.(prb)