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)