Labor union restrictions too tight: Minister

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.