Legislators condemn military's plan to meddle in labor disputes
JAKARTA (JP): Legislators and a labor activist criticized the military's plan to meddle in labor conflicts, warning that the policy will only worsen the already mounting problem.
In separate interviews with The Jakarta Post yesterday, they said the military's intervention is both unnecessary and "worrying" on the heels of the increasing number of labor disputes sweeping across Indonesia's industrial centers.
Legislators Sabam Sirait and Royani Haminullah and labor activist Teten Masduki were responding to the plan made public by the chief of the military's socio-political department, Lt. Gen. Hartono, in a seminar on Tuesday.
The general said the Coordinating Agency for the Strengthening of National Stability (Bakorstanas), which oversees internal security, would "coordinate" efforts to settle labor disputes.
The plan was announced less than a month after Indonesia witnessed massive worker protests in the North Sumatra capital of Medan that turned into anti-Chinese riots in which one man was killed and dozens of factories and shops attacked.
The government set up Bakorstanas in 1988 to replace the powerful Kopkamtib (Command for the Restoration of Law and Order). The military agency is in charge of coordinating all efforts to safeguard national stability.
Justifying the policy, Hartono said SPSI, the sole government- sanctioned labor union, has failed to channeled its members' demands, resulting in widespread labor unrest.
He also charged that the manpower minister has yet to work hard enough to uphold Pancasila industrial relations.
He said if not handled in a coordinated manner at an early stage, labor disputes could continue to disintegrate into violence.
"Bakorstanas' involvement should not be considered as the military's involvement in labor disputes, issues which are usually flaunted in international fora in order to tarnish Indonesia's image."
Sirait, a member of the House of Representatives Commission I in charge of security, said Bakorstanas' plan is confusing because the government has dropped a regulation that allows military intervention in labor disputes.
He recalled a guarantee from the Armed Forces (ABRI) that non- military intervention in labor disputes would be applied to cover companies outside Jakarta and eventually all over Indonesia.
"Does the latest plan means that the military wants to take over the functions of the Ministry of Manpower, which it apparently considers unable to handle labor disputes?" he asked.
He also put forth the question of whether the government should allow the establishment of a new labor union which truly defends its members, if, indeed, SPSI has failed to fulfill this function.
The government has refused to acknowledge SBSI (Indonesian Prosperous Labor Union) and SBMSK (Solidarity Free Trade Union) on the grounds that their founders are not workers as the laws require.
Royani, a member of House Commission VI on manpower affairs, described Bakorstanas' plan as "worrying" because the heavy security approach that the military is in the habit of applying could suppress the workers' wishes to voice their concern constitutionally, such as by demonstrating.
"The intervention will only spread fear among laborers in their efforts to strive for better well-being," he said, adding that he appreciated the military's good intentions behind the plan.
Masduki, a labor activist from the Indonesian Legal Institute (LBH), described the military's planned meddling in labor disputes as an "extraordinary" move. "If Bakorstanas goes ahead with the plan, it would mean the return of repression in the settlement of labor conflict."
Masduki said that what Indonesian workers need at present is a fair mechanism for settlement of labor disputes rather than Bakorstanas' involvement. "Military meddling will only further complicate the already complex labor problems and spark international criticism," he added.
He pointed out that such intervention in a labor dispute in a watch company in Sidoarjo, East Java, recently triggered a legal battle when the workers dismissed by the local military sought a court settlement. (pan)