Govt donates to families of dead labor activists

Govt donates to families of dead labor activists

JAKARTA (JP): The government offered to donate Rp 1 million
(US$425) yesterday to the relatives of 14 dead labor activists,
including relatives of labor heroine Marsinah.

Director general for Industrial Relations and Labor Standards
Suwarto, who handed over the donation to the relatives, said the
reward symbolized the government's recognition of the activists'
noble cause.

"They made outstanding contributions to the promotion of
workers' protection and improvement of their families' well-
being," he said.

Twelve of the honored activists were from Jakarta, one from
West Java and two from East Java.

The donation was part of the commemoration of National Labor
Day, which took place on Feb. 20.

Marsinah's relatives, the most well-known recipients of the
donation, were not present at the ceremony. They were represented
by a ministry official.

Marsinah, who organized a strike at PT Catur Putra Surya -- a
watch manufacturer in Sidoarjo, East Java -- was discovered dead
on May 9, 1993, her badly mutilated body lying in an abandoned
shack near Nganjuk, 90 kilometers west of Sidoarjo.

Marsinah had been involved in a dispute between the factory's
managers and workers on May 4 and 5, 1993. Workers at PT Catur
Putra Surya -- mostly females -- went on strike to demand that
their wages be raised 20 percent above the minimum wage.

Following negotiations with Marsinah and 12 other workers'
representatives, the management agreed to fulfill the demand.
Soon after the agreement was signed, however, Marsinah and other
representatives were summoned to Sidoarjo military district
headquarters, where they claimed being intimidated into signing
letters of resignation.

Marsinah was a recipient of the prestigious Yap Thiam Hien
human rights award from the Foundation of the Center for Human
Rights Study in Dec., 1993. (31)