Government denies troops beat striking workers

Government denies troops beat striking workers

JAKARTA (JP): The government yesterday denied allegations made
by the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) that troopers beat
striking workers of a shoe company in Jombang, East Java, last
month.

Minister of Manpower Abdul Latief told The Jakarta Post that
YLBHI's claim that the strike at CV Maska Perkasa turned violent
was totally unfounded.

"We've checked the case with officials in Jombang. No workers
were wounded or hospitalized following the strike as reported by
the press," Latief said. Nobody fainted or was injured, he added.

The claim by YLBHI was first reported by a number of local
newspapers last week.

The vocal foundation said that one worker was seriously
injured and one women had a miscarriage when troopers clashed
with striking workers inside the Jombang office of the Ministry
of Manpower on Oct. 17. In addition, it was reported that 22
workers were knocked unconscious during the clash.

YLBHI has demanded that the Armed Forces take responsibility
for the incident and punish the soldiers involved.

According to the foundation, around 2,600 Maska Perkasa
workers defied orders by the military to leave the manpower
office, saying that they were prepared to sit in until their
demands for higher wages, in line with the government's minimum
wage regulations, were met by management.

The workers also held an executive of the management hostage.

Both ABRI Spokesman Brig. Gen. Suwarno Adiwijoyo and Chief of
East Java Military Command Maj. Gen. Imam Utomo have denied the
allegations that troopers beat workers. Both men said ABRI is now
considering suing YLBHI and challenging the foundation to prove
its allegations in court.

YLBHI has said that it has the necessary evidence to prove its
allegations.

Latief said that based on the reports he received from his
office in Jombang, several workers fainted during the strike
because they were tired and hungry.

He confirmed that police and military officers were present in
the area at the time, but they were there to ensure order and
security.

Latief in a ruling issued in January 1994 barred the military
from intervening in labor disputes.

Praising the workers for turning to the Manpower Office to
seek mediation in their dispute, Latief promised that he would
personally see to it that the conflict is settled peacefully.

According to the official report, the shoe company is claiming
bankruptcy and is planning to retrench its workers.

Latief, himself a former businessman before becoming a cabinet
member in 1993, said that there are procedures that a company
must observe in dismissing workers. "Before firing workers, the
company should secure permission from the Central Board for
Settlement of Labor Disputes," he said.

The minister also said the Jombang strike may have been
engineered by some "anti-government" forces.

"Many recent labor strikes in industrial zones in Java,
including last week's unrest, were masterminded by anti-
government groups," he said.

These groups, in cooperation with foreign partners, exposes
labor cases through seminars and other meetings to draw
international attention on Indonesia, he added. (rms)