Government calls for labor unions' independence

JAKARTA (JP): Referring to the ILO convention on freedom of association, the government called on labor unions on Friday to operate independently and promote harmony between workers and employers to help repair the political and economic climate.

Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Al-Hilal Hamdi said that with the International Labor Union convention ratified in 1998, trade unions must be able to operate independently.

"Labor unions should no longer depend on foreign aid but on their own members' dues and donations for their activities. This is very important to avoid foreign interference in their internal matters," he said in a written speech read by the Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration's director of industrial relations, Mardjono, in the opening ceremony of the Confederation of Independent Labor Unions (GSBI) here.

So far, almost all 43 labor unions depend on foreign assistance in financing their activities.

The minister also said that the government and security authorities should no longer interfere in the internal matters of unions, especially in labor disputes, as regulated by a 1999 ministerial decree.

He, however, said that despite the International Labor Organization convention, trade unions and workers must stick to the law in fighting for their interests and seeking solutions to labor disputes.

"Despite freedom of association, workers are not free to exercise all actions, especially violence, in fighting for their interests. Trade unions should be able to play a role in promoting democratic and legal procedures in representing workers," he said.

He said neither labor unions nor workers were prohibited from striking, but such an action should be the last resort if negotiations with employers failed and both sides were deadlocked.

"Labor strikes, especially violent ones, certainly benefit no side," he said.

Meanwhile, labor activists accused the authorities of using repressive actions in handling labor strikes, saying such a policy was similar to the way the former New Order regime repressed labor unions and intervened in labor disputes.

Indonesian Prosperity Trade Union (SBSI) chairman Muchtar Pakpahan regretted the deployment "by security authorities of hoodlums to handle PT Kadera's striking workers" in East Jakarta last month, leaving one worker dead and three others seriously injured.

"The Kadera incident is clear evidence that authorities are still using repressive means in restoring order and security. In the past, security apparatus were deployed in the front row to face striking workers; now they use hoodlums," he said.

Ariest Merdeka Sirait, chairman of the Information Center for Social Issues and Legal Counseling (Sisbikum), slammed President Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid's administration for failing to improve the labor conditions in the reform era.

"Gus Dur has done nothing for workers over the last one and a half years," he said. (rms)