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)