It's time to end social injustice

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The workers' protests, which degenerated into riots in Medan last week, have drawn numerous reactions. Political scientist Amir Santoso argues that unless the government is willing to deal with this case in an appropriate manner, it will cause a wider social movement for justice. _______________________________________________________________________

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JAKARTA (JP): As the workers were demonstrating in Medan, one question that arose was whether their actions were spontaneous or if some other party might have been involved in planning them.

Whenever we are confronted with demonstrations, we seem to be inclined to look not only for the motives, but also for possible masterminds behind them.

In my view nothing wrong with this habit, as long as the search for possible masterminds does not overshadow our efforts to find the cause of the demonstrations.

Obviously, workers demonstrate because they regard their living standard as being inadequate. Workers, at the same time, may complain about inequities which they feel exist in the distribution of profits, and in the government's treatment of their grievances.

Previously, low-paid workers were unaware of the unfair treatment they had been receiving from their employers and, as a result, the labor situation remained comparatively calm.

The awareness of such unfair treatment arose only after organizations came into being to inform them of the situation.

Other agents of information, such as the mass media, may also promote such awareness. There is considerable truth in the assertion made by one sociologist that a group's potential for dissent will only express itself when the members of the group become aware of the situation they are in.

Workers then compare their low living standards with those of their employers, who generally live in affluence. And workers also know that the employers are protected by the government, and often inordinately so.

For the sake of ensuring the continued existence of industries, the right of workers to organize is restricted. Communication between workers and employers is thus impeded and a number of employers defy the government's minimum wage regulations.

The employers suppress their workers wages because they know they can count on the protection of the government apparatus when a dispute arises.

According to some sources, this protection is sometimes given by the government apparatus, not only because the government wants to ensure the continued existence of the industries, but because the officials in question -- mostly at the regional and local levels -- receive money from the industrialists.

As a consequence the workers feel they are being treated unfairly and their resentment mounts.

In Medan, workers are different from those in the greater Jakarta area. In Medan, generally speaking, people tend to be more hot tempered and are more easily provoked into staging demonstrations and indulging in destructive behavior.

The Indonesian Prosperous Labor Union (SBSI), which is accused by the government of having masterminded the demonstrations, is led by a person who hails from that region.

Thus, it is easier for the SBSI to communicate with workers in Medan than in other regions for the purpose of staging a demonstration.

It may be true that the SBSI had urged peaceful demonstrations. What they seemed to have overlooked is the fact that demonstrations are easily manipulated by other parties -- whoever they may be -- in order to raise racial issues and discredit the SBSI.

Aside from all that, the Medan disturbances display three particular aspects that urgently need to be dealt with if worse incidents are to be deterred.

First, the time has come for the government to pass legislation to lessen the economic disparity between indigenous and non-indigenous Indonesians.

Indigenous Indonesians need to be assured a greater share in the national economy. The Medan upheavals show that the dissatisfaction among native Indonesians over such economic injustices is mounting.

Such dissatisfaction is perceived by all indigenous Indonesians throughout the country.

Second, the time has come for the government to issue strict regulations to make sure that officials cut down collusion with industrialists, to prevent settlements that put the latter in an overly favorable position.

Third, the government should instruct its apparatus, especially in the provinces, to open better channels of communication with workers.

If, for instance, at the first meeting at the governor's office the government apparatus had entered into a dialog with the workers, I believe the demonstrations might not have happened.

The inability of government officials to talk with the people is a public secret. For whatever reasons, some government officials are afraid to face the people.

Whenever groups of people come to ask for a dialog, officials often send their subordinates to represent them. As a result the people become angry and disappointed.

I am afraid that unless the government can settle these problems in a satisfactory and appropriate manner, the Medan incidents could prove to be the trigger for a wider movement for social justice.

The writer is executive director of the Institute for Research and Development of Social Sciences at University of Indonesia.