Government urged to rid SPSI of politicians

Government urged to rid SPSI of politicians

JAKARTA (JP): A leading member of the All-Indonesia Workers
Union (SPSI) has asked the government to purge the union's
leadership of "politicians" who represent the organization more
than workers.

Wilhelmus Bokha, deputy secretary-general, has opened up a
battle front with his colleagues on the executive board with this
stance in the run-up to the union's congress.

The reorganization of SPSI's administrative structure and the
appointment of new leaders are expected to dominate the congress
scheduled for Nov. 14-Nov. 29.

"Almost all executives of SPSI and its sectoral unions come
from SOKSI and Kosgoro," Bokha told reporters on Thursday after
attending a media briefing on the congress in Caringin, West
Java.

SOKSI and Kosgoro are two powerful organizations that have
close links to Golkar, the ruling political group.

Outgoing SPSI chairman Imam Sudarwo, who said yesterday he has
no intention of running for the post again in next week's
congress, is a member of the Kosgoro cadre.

Nomination of candidates for the various positions on the SPSI
executive board are already underway, and informed sources said
most of them are associated with SOKSI and Kosgoro.

Bokha blamed SPSI's ineffective of representation of workers
on it leadership composition which is dominated by members of
SOKSI and Kosgoro.

"Workers have become alienated from the union," he said.

He said that it would take strong government intervention in
the upcoming congress to change the leadership structure and turn
SPSI into a more professional, independent and democratic
organization.

SPSI is the only union recognized by the government to
represent workers in negotiations with managements.

Next week's congress will be the first since SPSI reverted
back to its original form as a federation of a number of sectoral
unions.

In the last two years, SPSI has sponsored the establishment of
13 sectoral unions, which represent workers in the following
sectors: construction and public works, wood and forestry, trade,
banking and insurance, publication and printing, food, beverages
and cigarettes, chemicals, energy and mining, metals, electronics
and machinery, textiles, garment and leather, shipping,
pharmaceuticals and health, agriculture and plantations, and
tourism and transportation.

"Of the thousands of labor disputes that have occurred in this
country in the past, only 1 percent to 2 percent have been
mediated by SPSI," he said.

The majority of the disputes were handled by non-governmental
organizations.

He pointed out that SPSI has recruited only 10 million
members, not a staggering figure considering that there are an
estimated 33 million workers employed by around 149,000 companies
throughout the country.

"Workers are reluctant to join SPSI because they know it is
not a representative organization through which they can fight
for their interests," he said.

Another union, source who asked for anonymity, said the
presence of "politicians" in the leadership structure has plunged
the organization into crisis.

"All strategic positions, both in the organization and
sectoral unions, are filled in by unprofessional people," the
source said. "And what they have done for the workers is far less
than what they have gained for themselves."

He said embezzlement, collusion and nepotism are rampant in
SPSI and that foreign aid received by SPSI has never been
properly accounted for.

Many SPSI officials spend more time in cultivating
relationships with business executives than with workers, he
added.

During yesterday's media briefing, outgoing chairman Imam
Sudarwo denied the suggestion that SPSI's leadership is dominated
by people from Kosgoro or SOKSI, saying that nobody in the union
represents outside organizations.

He said the upcoming congress could discuss this issue as well
as a host of other problems that SPSI is facing. (rms)