House endorses bill on industrial disputes

House endorses bill on industrial disputes

Ridwan Max Sijabat, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Employers can no longer arbitrarily dismiss their workers as a
new bill on industrial dispute settlement that the House of
Representatives endorsed on Tuesday allows a dismissed worker to
directly bring his or her case to court.

It will rectify Law No. 13/2003 on labor protection that was
passed into law in March, which allows employers to dismiss their
workers provided that it is permitted by the manpower ministry.

"Employers are allowed to dismiss their workers only if all
requirements set by the law are met. The new legislation on
settlement of industrial relations disputes aims to give the
chance for workers and employers to seek a quick and fair
settlements to their disputes," Minister of Manpower and
Transmigration Jacob Nuwa Wea said after the House's plenary
meeting to endorse the new bill.

The minister however said the new legislation would allow
employers to seek court orders preventing labor unions employing
forms of industrial action that are not permitted under the labor
law.

"In the future, it will no longer effective for workers to
stage massive rallies to demand their (normative) rights because
the new legislation regulates a new system to seek fair and quick
settlements of industrial disputes," he said.

The new legislation which will replace obsolete Law No.
22/1957 and Law No. 14/1964, stipulates that conflicting parties,
whether workers, employers or labor unions, are free to settle
their disputes through mediation, conciliation, arbitration, or
directly at the labor court, if they fail to reach an agreement
at a bipartite level.

Under the current system, conflicting sides go to government-
appointed mediators and, if they fail to reach a settlement, go
to the local committee for settlement of industrial disputes
(P4D) and finally the central committee (P4P). The manpower
minister is also allowed to veto committee' decisions which many
consider unfair.

To enforce the law, the government is to issue a regulation on
the appointment of professional mediators, conciliators and
arbitrators in handling industrial disputes. In addition to the
district court found in regencies and municipalities there will
be a special (labor) court to try labor cases.

The newly endorsed bill will be communicated to the public for
one year before its full enforcement next year.

It also stipulates that the labor court, especially in
regencies and municipalities where industrial estates are
located, should have a panel of at least three judges consisting
of one career judge and two ad hoc judges representing employers
and workers.

"The new legislation offers quick settlement of labor disputes
and frees workers from paying administrative fees to courts in
bringing cases involving compensation amounting up to Rp 150
million," Nuwa Wea said.

He added that while the government is preparing the
establishment of the new system and promoting the new
legislation, both the regional and central committees for
settlement of labor disputes that will be dissolved, will no
longer accept any registration of new industrial disputes.