Lack of awareness, unity renders unions impotent

Lack of awareness, unity renders unions impotent

Hera Diani and Maria Endah Hulupi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The number reaches 140 and they boast some 11 million members,
but labor unions here remain unsuccessful as a powerful political
force or even in their ability to fight for the interests of the
workers they represent.

Official records show that there are 63 registered national
federations of labor unions, 140 labor unions and some 11,000
company-level unions.

The unions have only slightly succeeded in their fight for
improved welfare, favorable working conditions, less working
hours, personal development and social security.

The unions have even failed to gather many workers for the
protests against the recent utility price hikes, as the recent
numbers prove. They have involved on average only about 3,000
workers instead of the 25,000 they claimed would demonstrate.

Therefore, there is still a long way to go before
representatives of workers can become a major political force
that could influence decision making in this country.

Former manpower minister Bomer Pasaribu said that local unions
lacked organizational and managerial abilities, and most had
internal leadership problems.

"The numbers are high, but only a few of the labor unions have
clear programs to fight for their common goals," said Bomer.

Labor expert Tutur Suwito said that the unions had become
similar to political parties, in which the leaders had their own
vested interests.

"We can see that from the recent protests, where many unions
were reluctant to get involved and support the others," he said.

The workers themselves still have a very low awareness of the
social and political situation in their own country, as they will
join rallies or protests only if they can directly see and feel
how the issues affect them personally. There is no concept of
solidarity for fellow workers in a different area or economic
sector.

"Many workers decided not to join the recent protests (against
the price hikes) because they have yet to feel the impact
personally of the increased prices," said the former chairman of
the non-governmental organization Jakarta Labor Institute (IPJ).

"If the price hike causes the company to lay off their
workers, that will be when the workers react to the price hike.
It has always been like that with other issues. Instead of
proposing a program that will improve their welfare in the big
picture for the long run, workers only have the wherewithal to
impulsively react to an existing policy," Tutur said.

Workers, he added, also still think in a very narrow way how
to personally earn as much money by working as long as they are
able, instead of thinking how to improve their collective welfare
over the long run.

"The existing labor law is also not conducive to establishing
a strong union, because the minimum prerequisite is just 10
members," said Tutur.

Many unions in Indonesia were founded, and later managed, by
non-governmental organization (NGO) activists, such as Dita Indah
Sari and Muchtar Pakpahan.

This, sometimes, inadvertently results in the workers being
too dependent upon their activist patrons, thus impairing the
capacity-building process among the workers themselves.

This weak leadership is also the result of the long history of
oppression instituted by former president Soeharto, who allowed
only government-sanctioned unions to exist, which often had
infiltrators undermining them.

This Soeharto/New Order oppression impaired the labor
movement's ability to groom potential leaders from among the
ranks of workers, and also significantly increased the workers'
distrust of unions.

The labor movement and number of unions has grown
significantly since the fall of Soeharto. The increased number,
however, has only created greater fragmentation between workers
in different sectors.

It is also questionable whether the figure of 11 million
registered union members is accurate, as it has caused confusion
if there are more than one union in each company, thus double
counting one individual.

The problem becomes more difficult at national-level
negotiations. Often the negotiations have stalled because union
representatives become embroiled in fights among themselves. The
deliberations over the latest labor bills were proof of that.

"Labor unions in state-owned companies are far better than
those in private firms. They are more capable of mobilizing their
members and are less tainted by particular political interests,"
he said.

In order to empower labor unions, Bomer stressed the need for
an improved labor law, especially after the implementation of
regional autonomy.

In addition, Bomer suggested the establishment of an equal and
meaningful bipartite relationship between workers and employers,
and a tripartite relationship involving the government, so as to
facilitate negotiations to resolve disputes.