Labor problems could cause social distress
Debbie A. Lubis, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The presence of more than 300,000 returning workers from Malaysia and the possible layoff of thousands of workers at home could further magnify the already large problem of unemployment, raising fears of widespread social problems ahead of the 2004 general election.
Imam B. Prasojo, a sociologist at the University of Indonesia, said unemployment would likely cause social problems in the form of crime, vigilantism, drug trafficking and sectarian and ethnic violence.
"The tougher competition (for jobs) could force the unemployed to take shortcuts to make money, and they will do anything to survive the difficult situation," he told The Jakarta Post by telephone here on Tuesday.
The exodus of more than 300,000 illegal Indonesian workers from Malaysia will only aggravate the situation here, where about 40 million people are currently unemployed. And thousands of workers in the manufacturing industry are facing mass layoffs following a slowdown in orders from international footwear makers.
Social unrest and white-collar crime may no longer be confined to people in urban areas, because according to a 2001 national survey 59 percent of the almost 99 million-strong workforce live in rural areas.
Former manpower minister Bomer Pasaribu said on Tuesday unemployment would trigger numerous social problems in the immediate future, with the country's job market unable to absorb the huge number of unemployed.
"This is an enormous problem for us. We already have 40 million unemployed people, and no significant economic growth," he said, adding that all this posed a serious problem that the government had to solve.
Bomer, who is a labor activist and chairman of the Center for Labor and Development Studies, predicted that by 2004 the number of unemployed would increase to 43.5 million, or about 20 percent of Indonesia's total population.
Included in the unemployment figures are those people who work less than 35 hours a week.
Bomer also predicted economic growth would only reach 3.4 percent in 2004, a rather pessimistic outlook given the current growth of 3.3 percent.
"The unemployed will only become burdens for their families, society and the country. We will all have to bear the social costs unemployment brings, like social unrest, smuggling, crime and riots," Bomer said.
The unemployment rate, which has reached alarming levels, and slow economic growth will certainly pose serious problems for the people, especially as the general elections near.
"The next two years will be a crucial time for the nation because of the social and economic problems," he said.
Meanwhile, Adang Farid Kantaprawira, the director general of labor training and domestic placement at the Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration, said Indonesian workers deported from Malaysia would not pose a serious problem because they were small in number.
"They can go back to their places of work in Malaysia after they meet all the conditions set by the Malaysian government," he said.
Adang said cooperation among government institutions, the public and businesspeople was needed to address the problem of unemployment.
"We have some ideas to create job opportunities, but we don't have the funds to help create jobs," he said.