Labor unions urged to be self-financing

JAKARTA (JP): A labor unionist urged labor organizations yesterday to be more financially independent to improve their ability to bargain.

Thomas Thomas, general secretary of Singapore Shell's employee union, suggested the idea at a three-day regional seminar called Prospects of Collective Bargaining in the Era of Globalization.

"Labor unions are under the threat of economic development which tends to neglect social dimensions and workers' welfare," Thomas said.

According to Thomas, labor unions should have the role of social conscience for their workers and fulfill the workers' social dimension through appropriate social and welfare policies.

Independence, however, is not measured by a union's relation to the government or its political inclination but on how well it can defend the interests of its workers.

"There are many labor organizations funded by the government that remain independent," he told The Jakarta Post.

Cheap land and labor have lured multinational corporations to developing countries. They bring management skills and marketing expertise to the host countries, which oppress trade unions, he added.

According to Thomas, developing countries often argue that without foreign investment and multinational corporations, employment would be extremely difficult to generate.

Bomer Pasaribu, chairman of the All-Indonesia Workers Union Federation, the only labor union recognized by the government, said that the organization shares Thomas' idea.

In his opening speech, Bomer said that the federation has reformed its structure from a unitary to a federative union to enhance the role of workers to boost industrial relations.

Bomer said that reform of the national wage system is one of the federation's biggest concerns.

"Labor is not just a trade commodity, we need to humanize labor by, among other things, ceasing to bow our head to the growth of economic liberalization," Bomer said.

According to Bomer, the Rp 5,200 (US$2.25) minimum daily wage set by the Indonesian government is ludicrous and insufficient in a city like Jakarta.

"Many employers, however, get away with paying even less than the minimum wage because countless other job seekers would do anything just to have a job," he added.

Some participants pointed out that low education levels have prevented many workers in developing countries from improving their welfare.

In Pakistan, for example, only 26 percent of the population is literate, 20 percent of whom live in Karachi, delegates from Pakistan said.

At the end of 1994, the International Labor Organization reported that 30 percent of the global labor force, or 820 million people, were underemployed or unemployed. (14)