'Govt does nothing to tackle unemployment'

'Govt does nothing to tackle unemployment'

Muhammad Nafik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Labor activists, analysts and businesspeople lashed out at the
government on Thursday for its inaction and lack of seriousness
in solving the country's unemployment problems that have
adversely affected more than 38 million people of working age.

Speaking at a panel discussion on unemployment, they said the
number of unemployed people was continuing to rise as thousands
of workers were rendered jobless after having been laid off at
home or deported from Malaysia.

The speakers urged President Megawati Soekarnoputri's
government to make the issue a top priority and address it
accordingly.

They agreed that not only was the Ministry of Manpower and
Transmigration responsible for the unemployment problem, but all
Cabinet members.

"It's the obligation of the state to provide jobs for its
people or at least to seek to prevent workers from losing
employment," said Arief Soedjito, chairman of the Confederation
of the All Indonesian Trade Union (KSPSI).

"This idea is not an exaggeration because it is already
mandated by Article 27 of the 1945 Constitution," he told the
discussion entitled Unemployment: Is There Any Solution?.

Pitoyo, executive director of the Indonesian Employees'
Association, also blasted the poor coordination among government
and private agencies in handling the jobless issue.

"The national coordination to overcome unemployment is not
visible, either with government officials or between them and the
private sector," he said.

Activist with the Association of Indonesian Workers (Aspek)
Timbul Siregar and senior journalist Rosihan Anwar, who is also a
labor analyst, said the government had not yet offered any
initiatives or vision to reduce the jobless numbers.

Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Jacob Nuwa Wea
admitted that Megawati's Cabinet lacked coordination in efforts
to cope with the unemployment.

"It should have been the focus of all ministries. To reduce
the number of jobless and create job opportunities is an
obligation for all of us. The problem is national in nature," he
told the same forum.

Jacob said the number of the jobless had dropped to 38.3
million people from around 40 million before Megawati took power
last year, but added that the reduction was not significant.

Analysts have chided the government for a lack of seriousness
in dealing with crucial labor issues. Every ministry appeared to
have worked on its own agenda without showing concerns about how
to resolve the growing unemployment.

The recent deportation of hundreds of thousands of
undocumented Indonesian workers from Malaysia was the latest
case, in which the government came under fire at home for failing
to prevent the "inhuman" expulsion.

Many of the ill-fated workers are still waiting at holding
camps in Nunukan which lies on border between East Kalimantan and
Malaysia.

Jacob has repeatedly criticized the Malaysian government for
refusing to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Jakarta
to guarantee protection of Indonesians working there.

"Malaysia treated Indonesian workers well when the country
needed them, but when it did not, it abandoned them," he said.

The minister, a member of Megawati's Indonesian Democratic
Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), however acknowledged that
sending more workers, including skilled ones, overseas was an
important move to help reduce unemployment in Indonesia.

He proposed the establishment of a national body to promote,
empower and protect Indonesian workers overseas, saying the move
is expected to prevent the Malaysia deportation case from
recurring.

Pitoyo voiced support for such a body, saying it should be led
by the president and involve government and private agencies,
universities and non-governmental organizations.

Another speaker and prominent businessman Sofyan Wanandi
suggested that the government invest in large-scale
infrastructure projects across the country as part of efforts to
create new jobs and improve roads, bridges and harbors.

"We cannot rely on businesspeople right now because they will
not expand businesses amid the current security and law
enforcement uncertainty. Their stance is just to survive," he
said.