International workers union criticizes manpower bill
International workers union criticizes manpower bill
JAKARTA (JP): An international labor union has criticized
Indonesia's manpower bill for stipulations which it says
contradict international labor principles.
International Metalworkers Federation (IMF) president Klaus
Zwickel criticized the bill in a press conference at the
Indonesian Legal Aid Institute, which is campaigning to improve
workers' welfare.
The bill is now being deliberated at the House of
Representatives.
Zwickel said the bill's stipulations on wages and workers'
right to strike and form labor unions were restrictive.
He said that, if the bill was passed in its present form,
international workers' organizations might "isolate" Indonesia.
The Geneva-based IMF is an independent worker's organization
representing 20 million metal workers in 90 countries, including
Indonesia.
The bill, comprising 18 chapters and 159 articles, has been
drafted as an umbrella law for 14 labor regulations made between
1887, during the Dutch colonial period, and 1969.
The bill, submitted to the House earlier this year, has
attracted much criticism from various organizations even before
its first reading last month.
Minister of Manpower Abdul Latief has warned against
exploitation of the bill for political purposes. President
Soeharto has urged the public not to criticize the bill until
after deliberation has been completed.
Among the bill's most contentious articles is the stipulation
that workers must give the authorities three days notice of
planned industrial action.
The IMF delegation is here to observe workers' conditions and
visit the jailed labor leader, Muchtar Pakpahan. The delegation
includes IMF general secretary Marcello Melentacchi, IG Metall
international department head Albert Schunk and IMF senior
executive Hiroshi Kamada.
The delegation said they had met representatives of the
Ministry of Manpower's Jakarta office to discuss the bill.
Zwickel is also president of IG Metall, the German
metalworkers union. He said that, if the bill was passed without
revision of controversial articles, his organization would ask
the German government to "approach" Jakarta.
Zwickel said the delegation had visited Pakpahan in hospital
as a show of solidarity for Pakpahan's campaign for workers.
Pakpahan, leader of the Indonesian Prosperous Labor Union, has
been in hospital since March because of a lung tumor, a blood
clot in the brain and appendicitis.
Pakpahan has requested the government's permission to travel
abroad for medical treatment. A team of doctors from the Cipto
Mangunkusumo general hospital is again checking Pakpahan's
condition to see whether he should be allowed to travel abroad
for treatment.
Pakpahan was sentenced to three years in jail in November 1994
for inciting riots in Medan. (05)