Govt enforces new law on industrial relations to promote harmony

Ridwan Max Sijabat, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Despite opposition from minor labor unions, the government has enacted Law No. 13/2003 on industrial relations and labor protection to develop harmonious industrial ties between employers and workers.

The new law, the first draft of which contained many contentious articles that met with strong opposition from workers and employers, was approved by President Megawati Soekarnoputri on March 25.

Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Jacob Nuwa Wea told The Jakarta Post here on Thursday that the government had no intentions to change its mind and drop the newly enacted law, nor even to review it, since it had won the support of most employers and investors, as well as a majority of the 68 labor unions registered with the manpower ministry.

"Only seven out of 68 labor unions expressed their objections to the law; so, should the government annul the law or should I quit (my job) for only 100,000 people going into the streets to protest it?

"I doubt that the seven unions knew about the changes made in the new law, and the protesters were probably workers or paid hoodlums. The utmost importance is that the law has gained the support of the majority of labor unions representing around 40 million workers nationwide," he said.

Tens of thousands of workers protested in several cities across the country to mark May Day, the International Labor Day, demanding the government to drop the new law and the manpower minister to step down.

The new law regulates workers' rights in regards their salaries, severance and service payments of up to 900 percent, annual leaves, an employees' holiday of one month for three years' employment, days off and social security protection. Employers are also obliged to provide health, transportation and food allowances and special provisions for voluntary child laborers.

The law also covers industrial relations, regulating bipartite and tripartite negotiations on industrial disputes and company rules or collective labor agreements.

The government and the House of Representatives are still making final revisions to the bill on the settlement of industrial disputes, regulating bipartite and tripartite institutions, arbitrations and labor courts.

Senior researcher Payaman Simanjuntak hailed the new law, which he said accommodated a greater part of both workers' and employers' aspirations.

"It is impossible for the new law to accommodate all aspirations of both workers and employers simultaneously, since both sides have different interests. But both sides could intensify their bipartite negotiations in making collective labor agreements or deals (KKB) at the corporate level," he said after the launch of his book, Manajemen Hubungan Industrial (Industrial Relations Management) here on Thursday.

Payaman, who is also a professor of labor economics at Krisnadwipayana University in East Jakarta, commended the new law for trying to encourage workers and employers to become harmonious partners in developing better industrial relations.

"Likening a (Western) dance, industrial relations is a process in which workers and employers are complementing, following and supporting one another. After much practice, they become harmonious partners," he said.

Arief Sudjito of the Confederation of All-Indonesian Workers Union (KSPSI) stressed the importance of campaigning the new labor law and of the government closely supervising its enforcement.

"All labor unions and their units at a corporate level should be empowered to campaign the law and to enforce it in bipartite negotiations with employers. Besides, the central government should have on-line contact with provincial and regental administrations in supervising its implementation," he said.

Djimanto, deputy chairman of the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo), called on the government to exempt small- scale enterprises from ruling on severance and service payments.

"Both the government and workers do not want small-scale companies to close down from facing the difficulties of the current climate," he said, adding that middle-scale and large companies had no major points of contention with the new law.