House to press ahead social security system bill

Ridwan Max Sijabat, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

Ignoring main stake holders' aspirations, the House of Representatives is determined to complete the deliberation of the much-criticized bill on national social security system (SJSN) next week.

Surya Chandra Surapaty, chairman of the House's working committee deliberating the bill, declined to receive a group of employers and labor activists who were trying to stop the House deliberating the bill here on Friday. Surya said that the bill deliberation has been nearing completion and was scheduled to be brought to a plenary session on Sept. 21.

He said both the government and the working committee have agreed to set up a small team to formulate and synchronize all contentious issues that have been already discussed over the last several months.

"The small team (Timus) will work on Friday, Saturday and Sunday to ensure that the bill is ready to be endorsed on Tuesday," he said.

The Bipartite Forum representing employers grouped in the Indonesian Employers' Association (Apindo) and labor unions have opposed the bill since they had not been involved in preparing the bill's academic draft and its substance would certainly affect them.

"We are really confused over the working committee's rejection. Is it a state institution representing the people or a retail company fighting to reach its sale target? If it is a legislative body it should not turn a deaf ear to employers and workers, both main stake holders in the social security bill," Hasanuddin Rachman, a spokesman for the Bipartite Forum, told The Jakarta Post here on Friday.

The Bipartite Forum which sent 200 delegates to meet with the House's working committee on Sept. 2, proposed to the committee to suspend the bill's deliberation for numerous reasons, but the committee decided to continue the deliberation for specified reasons.

"Two major factions in the working committee have seemingly been determined to complete the deliberation and endorse it before their term of office ends at the end of this month. Although many sides, including employers and workers, have expressed their opposition to the controversial bill," said a member of the working committee who asked for anonymity.

Hasanuddin reiterated that employers and workers have opposed the bill which they claimed to be overlapping with the social security programs for workers (Jamsostek), civil servants (Askes and Taspen), public transport passengers (Jasa Raharja) and servicemen (Asabri).

"Besides, both workers and employers will be asked to give cross-subsidy for the poor for their participation in the social security programs," he said.

Hasanuddin added that according to information he gained from the working committee, the government would ask all the five state-owned companies to provide a total of Rp 3 trillion to run the social security programs for the poor.

Hasanuddin explained that the Bipartite Forum has submitted their objections to the bill to the House but so far no positive response had been given. He said the working committee has ignored the objections "because the committee's chairman and several members of the committee have their own interests in the establishment of a national body running the national social security system."

Dita Indah Sari, chairwoman of the National Front for the Struggle of Indonesian Workers (FPNBI), said workers would stage a demonstration at the House on Saturday until Tuesday to pressurize the House to suspend endorsing the controversial bill.

Manpower and Transmigration Minister Jacob Nuwa Wea, said that he personally opposed the bill because the government did not pay its own contribution to the social security programs, it was not fair if workers and employers have to give cross-subsidy for the poor.

"I have urged the House's working committee to suspend the bill and leave it to the next new parliament because its enforcement will certainly raise many conflicts in the field in the future," he said.

He said that the social security programs for workers could not be merged under the national system since Jamsostek programs were jointly financed by workers and employers.

State-owned PT Jamsostek's president Achmad Djunaidi said that his company has also submitted its opposition to the bill to the House because the new bill recommended the merger of the five state-companies under the national social security system.

"Besides we have been running for more than 26 years with 13 million workers participating in the programs and total assets of Rp 28 trillion (US$3 billion)," he said.