Labor union restrictions too tight: Minister
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Jacob Nuwa Wea slammed employers and law enforcers for the rampant restriction of labor unions, saying workers had the right to strike as a last resort to put pressure on management to meet their demands.
The minister said that to date, he had received hundreds of complaints from labor unions about the arrest and trial of labor activists for coordinating labor strikes.
"I have sent a letter to the Supreme Court, the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, the National Police and the Attorney General's Office to remain extra alert in handling labor cases," he said at a meeting at his office here on Tuesday with employers to publicize a bill on resolving labor disputes.
Jacob who has gained popularity among workers, labor unions and pedicab drivers, explained that many labor activists had been arrested and even jailed for leading labor strikes.
"Striking workers should not be arrested or charged with committing a crime because they have their right to do so, in accordance with the law.
"Therefore, the police, prosecutors and judges should be more careful when handling labor cases," he said, citing that many labor activists sentenced by district courts had appealed to higher courts to seek justice.
This has tarnished Indonesia's image on the international stage, he added.
Indonesia codified ILO Convention No 87 on freedom of association into Law No. 21/2002 on labor unions, allowing workers to go strike to fight for their interests.
Jacob, also chairman of the All-Indonesia Workers Union Federation (FSPSI), cited the imprisonment, on May 27, 2002, of three labor activists employed by mining company PT Pakerin in the East Java town of Mojokerto as an example.
The three, Subyanto, Sumarsono and Betha Wiraningtyas, were each sentenced by the Mojokerto District Court to one year in prison for coordinating a labor strike to demand the management provide meal and transport allowances for the company's workers.
"The strange thing is that the prosecutor charged them under Chapter 161 of the Criminal Code on committing crimes and Chapter 335 on committing unsocial acts for their role in leading the strike," he said, citing the workers had gone on strike after the management refused to meet their demands.
The minister said he was suspected a conspiracy between the management, local police, the prosecutor and the court in penalizing the three activists to discourage the workers from striking.
Widespread labor union restrictions have attracted serious attention in the ongoing ILO conference in Geneva and the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), representing more than 140 affiliated labor unions worldwide.
A report by ICFTU noted that a number of restrictions in the legislation allowing the court to dissolve a trade union if its basis conflicts with the 1945 Constitution or the Pancasila, the national ideology, or if its members or leaders have committed a crime against national security in its name and have been sentenced to at least five years in prison for that reason.