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)