Foreign union urges RI to honor ILO pact

Foreign union urges RI to honor ILO pact

JAKARTA (JP): Ten delegates of the International Metalworkers'
Federation (IMF) have called on the All-Indonesia Worker's Union
Federation (FSPSI) to press the government to enforce the
ratification of an International Labor Organization convention to
guarantee workers the freedom to form unions in state-owned
companies.

IMF general secretary Marcello Malentacchi said yesterday that
as the FSPSI's metal, electronics and machine sector is a member
of the ILO, it is morally responsible for guaranteeing the
freedom of workers to form a unit of the workers' union in all
private as well as state-owned companies.

"The convention says that everybody has the right to join a
workers' union," Malentacchi told The Jakarta Post after meeting
the FSPSI representatives.

The delegates yesterday concluded their six-day observation of
workers' conditions in this country and met SPSI leaders to hear
details of labor issues.

They visited the federation's chapters in the metal,
electronics and machine sector in a number of regions.

According to Malentacchi, the observations have proved that
workers' unions do not exist in state-owned companies due to the
government's policy which holds that the civil servants corps
(KORPRI) functions as a workers' union in those companies.

The head of the SPSI metal, electronics and machine division,
Hikayat Atika Karwa, told the Post yesterday that the IMF's
request is in line with the federation's efforts to form unions
in all private as well as government companies.

"Giving freedom to workers to form a union in their company
will prevent them from using other, possibly more violent,
channels to ensure their rights are protected if they do not want
to use the SPSI," Atika said.

He admitted that KORPRI does not represent a workers' union
because "it is a government-established organization," he said.

With the visit of the IMF delegates, the FSPSI is encouraged
to continue with its efforts to form a workers unions in state-
owned companies, he said.

The director of the Manpower Ministry's Labor Standards, Sabar
Sianturi, said earlier that KORPRI does not allow government
employees in state-owned companies to form their own unions.(03)