Labor hurdles mar birth of new manpower law

Labor hurdles mar birth of new manpower law

By Dwi Atmanta and Budiman Moerdijat

JAKARTA (JP): The passage of the controversial manpower bill
this year has laid a new milestone in the country's labor
history, as it was born amid workers' growing outcries over the
poor protection of their rights.

Not to mention the fraud allegations that tarnished the making
of the new law which was signed by President Soeharto early in
October.

Some observers say Indonesia's labor record this year was
poor. The lack of job security cost many workers their pride,
jobs and even their lives. Particular attention, however, should
be given to the plight of migrant workers as their suffering
seemed to eclipse reports about those who made it abroad.

The beheading of female worker Soleha Anam Kadiran in Mecca,
Saudi Arabia in September, followed by the planned execution of
fellow worker, Nasiroh Karmudin, was evidence of the poor record.

Soleha was ruled guilty of killing her employer, as was
Nasiroh. But the latter, who admitted to killing her employer
after being repeatedly sexually assaulted, escaped the death
penalty after the relatives of the victim pardoned her.

The leniency capped weeks of rescue efforts through legal and
diplomatic channels. The government stepped in only after it was
widely criticized of dragging its feet in both cases.

Soleha and Nasiroh were among thousands of illegal Indonesian
workers in Saudi Arabia, most of whom held fake passports.

Minister of Manpower Abdul Latief unveiled that 359 other
Indonesian workers were waiting sentencing in Saudi Arabian jails
for various offenses, including immigration violations. Latief
dismissed reports that 19 Indonesians were facing the death
penalty.

The similarly poor fate befell many Indonesian unskilled
workers in Malaysia and Singapore. The Jakarta Legal Aid
Institute, for instance, reported the alleged rape of Cartiah, an
Indonesian worker, by her Malaysian employer and the suicide of
another female worker, Talem, who fell from the eighth floor of
her employer's flat in Singapore in mid-October.

While expressing his concern about unprotected workers, Latief
blamed the growing number of Indonesian illegal workers abroad on
illegal brokers who lured job seekers with promises of big
salaries.

Latief said last month 700 brokers were involved in various
counterfeiting scams, including giving fake passports to many
underaged girls so they could work abroad.

Airlift

Once they were abroad, the illegal workers became a problem to
the receiving countries and Indonesia. In the end, the government
found it had no other choice but to repatriate the workers from
Saudi Arabia and Malaysia after the two countries launched a
crackdown on illegal workers in October.

Joint airlift operations to repatriate 35,000 problematic
workers from Saudi Arabia and Malaysia were launched by the
government and the Armed Forces.

Riwanto Tirtosudarmo of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences
was among activists who accused the government of treating
migrant workers as mere commodities. Once abroad, these workers
were prone to exploitation and abuse, he said.

The House of Representatives joined in the criticism, saying
that an investigation conducted by a team of eight legislators in
mid-November revealed that poor coordination among government
institutions had opened the way for illegal brokerage, passport
counterfeiting and abuse.

Riwanto lamented that the Manpower Law had failed to include
any stipulations on the protection of migrant workers.

Latief said in an emotional speech marking the House's
endorsement of the bill on Sept. 12 that the government accepted
significant changes in the draft to accommodate workers'
aspirations and protect their right to strike without losing
their wages.

A maximum sentence of six months in jail and a maximum fine of
Rp 50 million (US$10,000) will be imposed on employers who take
punitive measures against striking workers.

The government also decided to include Idul Fitri bonuses
among workers' basic rights regulated in the bill, while major
changes appear in the form of 50 extra articles which add to the
original 159 proposed by the government.

The law, which abolishes 11 older ordinances and laws on labor
affairs, will only become effective on Oct. 1 after the
government finishes drawing up supporting regulations.

Criticism had been voiced over the content of the law which,
some alleged, treated workers as a group of people with the
potential of threatening national stability. The process of its
deliberation also came under fire.

Latief braved a wave of allegations that he had used Rp 7.1
billion of state-owned workers insurance company PT Jamsostek's
funds to grease the House's wheels to approve the bill. He denied
the accusations, but admitted that he had asked for Rp 3.1
billion to finance accommodation and secretariat expenditures
during two months of deliberation by legislators.

He later said that President Soeharto ordered the use of
Jamsostek's funds.

But this did not put an end to investigations by the
Development and Finance Comptroller and the Jakarta Provincial
Prosecutor's Office into the alleged misuse of funds.

Death

To add insult to injury, the labor scene also witnessed the
death of workers in several boat accidents and several massive
workers' strikes demanding a pay rise.

Thirty-eight illegal job seekers drowned when their wooden
boat carrying them to Johor, Malaysia collided with a tanker in
the Strait of Malacca in July. Another 22 workers were missing in
an accident in about the same area last month.

The year also saw massive layoffs by banks and companies
affected by the monetary crisis that rocked the country. In
Central Java, 40,000 workers were laid off from August to
December.

More layoffs are feared to take place next year. A labor
activist, Bomer Pasaribu, predicted that more than one million
employees would lose their jobs next year due to the decline in
economic activities.

Indonesian workers look set to face a long haul of
difficulties next year.