Labor bill allows abuse of workers' rights: Activists

JAKARTA (JP): The National Commission on Human Rights and labor activists have joined forces to pressure legislators into overhauling a new bill that aims to give the government sweeping control of labor affairs.

The commission and representatives of 11 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) said yesterday there could be violations of workers' basic rights if the bill became law.

After a 90 minute discussion, they agreed to lobby the House of Representatives and the government.

Commission member Saparinah Sadli said the commission, acclaimed for its relative independence, was particularly concerned about the articles which allowed violations of human rights.

"The commission and the NGOs need to meet regularly to discuss field findings that they will use for their proposals for deliberating the bill," she said.

The NGOs are Akatiga, CPSM, Jakarta Social Institute, The Indonesian Women's Association for Justice Legal Aid, LBH (Legal Aid) Bandung, LBH Jakarta, Elsam, Sisbikum, Infid, Women Solidarity and YLBHI.

The NGOs said, in a joint statement, that the bill gave the government sweeping authority to control labor affairs, reducing workers' bargaining power.

Comprising 18 chapters and 159 articles, the bill has been drafted as an umbrella law for the 14 labor regulations made between 1887 during the Dutch colonial administration and 1969.

The bill covers labor policies, such as planning, information, placement and manpower development, and relations between workers employers and government. It affects all workers, including migrants and those working for informal businesses or nonprofit organizations.

The NGOs' spokesman, Teten Masduki of YLBHI, said the bill was dominated by the government's aim to guarantee security for business.

The bill aimed to maintain the states' domination of national labor politics that required cheap labor and made workers loyal to the bureaucracy.

The bureaucracy's strong role in labor affairs would make employers dependent on noneconomic institutions and security agencies while weakening workers' bargaining power, the NGOs said.

The labor activists said the bill curtailed workers' rights to associate, negotiate with employers, go on strike, seek legal protection and get fair wages.

"Labor strikes are restricted with permits that are possible only with government and employers' consent and strikers are denied wages," the joint statement said.

"Strikes are also only allowed within company premises, therefore staging protests at the House of Representatives, manpower ministry, Commission of Human Rights will be considered illegal."

The bill maintains the controversial "corporative" labor dispute settlement system, which gives the government decisive power.

The NGOs said the bill treated workers like capital, goods and production tools in a capitalistic economic system. This, they said, could encourage employers to treat workers' basic rights as "less important" than production and development processes.

Violations of human rights could occur because the bill gave the government practically unlimited power to intervene in industrial problems.

"The government's function is not limited to labor inspections and law enforcement but also to controlling labor organizations, wages, social security and labor market and settling labor disputes," they said.

The NGOs also said the bill discriminated against women workers because they were not allowed to work at mining sites for example.

It did not address female workers' basic rights such as reproductive rights which would give employers a loophole to discriminate against them, they said. (05/pan)