Government calls for labor unions' independence

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)