Government plans series of seminars on labor

JAKARTA (JP): The Ministry of Manpower will organize a series of seminars beginning next month to make a thorough review of the labor conditions in the country and to recommend plans of action.

Baroto Sardadi, the ministry's secretary general, told reporters that the first seminar will kick off on May 3 and will be officially opened by President Soeharto at the State Palace.

Through the seven seminars, which will be held between May and July, the government is expected to draw up a strategy on handling the nation's labor problems as well as human resources development, a major objective in the Sixth Five-Year Plan which began on April 1.

The seminars will discuss such topics as the basic strategy in coping with unemployment, industrial relations, the national wage system, labor laws, productivity, training programs and the movement towards an industrial society.

He said many scholars, leaders of non-governmental organizations and professional associations, business leaders and leaders of the International Labor Organization have agreed to participate in the seminars, including addressing the forums.

Finding jobs for the 12 million people who will be joining the labor force in the next five years, as well as eliminating already existing unemployment are two of the major challenges facing the government in the new Five Year Plan.

In addition, the government has been beset with labor problems and trade unions have been increasingly asserting their influence. This trend was partly encouraged by the government which has hiked the minimum wage regulations and then condoned labor strikes by workers who are pressing for their rights.

Baroto said the series of seminars will not only identify the problems, but more importantly, they are expected to provide answers to the many labor problems.

"Many regulations and laws on labor, for example, are considered to be out of date and need reviewing," he said.

He also said that labor problems would become more complicated in the next five years with advances in technology.

"A new, basic strategy on human resource development has to be formulated to make the national development beneficial to all people, especially workers," he said. (rms)