Indonesia defends labor record at ILO meeting in Geneva

Indonesia defends labor record at ILO meeting in Geneva

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia came under strong attack at the March
17-March 31 meeting of the International Labor Organization (ILO)
in Geneva as international trade unions charged Jakarta with
denying workers freedom of association.

The accusations were quickly repelled by Director General for
Industrial Relations and Labor Standards Suwarto, who headed the
Indonesian government's delegation to the meeting, the Antara
news agency reported on Thursday.

The unions charged that Indonesia is violating a 1956 ILO
convention on the right of workers to organize themselves. They
said that the All-Indonesia Workers Union (SPSI) was not an
independent organization because it was founded with the
government's help.

Suwarto told Antara that he had used the ILO forum to rebut
the charges and explained the history of the trade union movement
in Indonesia. He stressed that given its cultural and historical
background, the trade union in Indonesia was unique.

He had also insisted during the meeting that Indonesia had
fully complied with the ILO conventions regarding trade unions.

SPSI was originally a federation that was founded by 23 labor
unions in 1973. In 1985, it changed into a union, but last year
it reverted back to its original form as a federation.

"So, it is not true if said that there is no freedom of
association for workers in Indonesia," said Suwarto, who attended
the ILO meeting with Payaman Simanjuntak, an expert staff at the
Ministry of Manpower.

The government insists that SPSI is an independent
organization that determines its own course. But it is the only
labor organization which is officially recognized to represent
workers in disputes with management.

At home, the government's trade union policy has been dodged
by SBSI, the Indonesian Prosperous Labor Union, an independent
organization founded by labor activists. The group, which claims
membership of around 250,000, has been at odds with the
government in the past year. The government said SBSI cannot
claim to be a trade union because it is politically motivated.

Commitment

Suwarto said he told the ILO meeting that the government was
committed to guaranteeing workers the right to organize
themselves, which is guaranteed by law.

Payaman said that a separate meeting has been scheduled
between representatives of developing countries in the ILO and
the European Parliament to discuss the labor conditions in the
Third World.

Suwarto said Indonesia had agreed to attend the meeting and
present its views because many industrialized countries are
increasingly tying their financial assistance for Third World
countries to labor conditions.

Early last week, France and the United States jointly proposed
linking labor conditions and international trade. Those nations
announced that the matter should be taken up at the upcoming
meeting of the General Agreement on Tariff and Trade in Marakesh,
Morocco, from April 12 to April 15.

Payaman said the Geneva meeting also discussed several draft
conventions on the rights of part-time workers and coal miners'
which are expected to be endorsed by the ILO general assembly in
June.

He said Indonesia has been actively involved in drafting the
conventions. (rms)