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)