Government to defer enforcement of labor law

Government to defer enforcement of labor law

JAKARTA (JP): The government is set to postpone the
enforcement of a controversial new labor law, scheduled to take
effect Oct. 1, until it is revised.

Secretary-General of the Ministry of Manpower Soewarto said
yesterday the ministry had decided to defer the law's enforcement
following increasingly fierce criticism since it was passed by
the House of Representatives in February.

He said he had sent a letter to the state secretariat to ask
for President B.J. Habibie's approval of the move.

"This means the government will review the law. This will take
a long time to do because it will have to be sent again to the
House to be discussed and passed," he told journalists.

Soewarto said a number of amendments would be made to the
law's chapters on industrial relations, industrial strikes, child
labor, women workers and legal sanctions.

The controversial law has sparked fierce criticism from many
sides, both on how it was drafted and over its substance.

The law raised a nationwide controversy when it was discovered
that former minister of manpower Abdul Latief used at least Rp
4.1 billion from state-owned PT Jamsostek to finance its
deliberation.

Critics have argued that the law would restrict workers'
rights and would not provide legal protection for workers because
they would be banned from holding strikes. The law would have
also required workers to obtain permits from authorities if they
wanted to stage a demonstration.

Many have also charged that the law would fail to sufficiently
protect child and women workers.

Soewarto said a team from the Ministry of Manpower would be
formed to revise the law. Officials are currently soliciting
input from various groups for suggestions on which articles
require revision. (rms)