Labor unions urged to be self-financing

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)