Little has changed for workers in East Java

Little has changed for workers in East Java

ID Nugroho, The Jakarta Post/Surabaya

The cemetery was quiet in the afternoon, with only the sounds of
birds chirping in tamarind trees and the bleat of grazing goats
being audible. A grave, covered with blue tiles and sheltered by
a gray dome, appeared unkempt. Cracks have started to appear and
one section of it is littered with dead leaves. In front of the
tomb, a sign explains the date and cost of construction of the
tomb and the name of the donor.

In the grave, located in the middle of a rice field and fenced
in by shrubbery, lie the remains of Marsinah, a factory worker
who was murdered, allegedly by the military. The cemetery is
located in Sukomoro village, Nganjuk, East Java.

Marsinah worked for wristwatch maker PT Catur Putera Perkasa
in Sidoarjo and went missing after investigating the fate of
several other labor activists had reportedly been abducted by
security personnel. Marsinah, who was 24 years old at the time,
was found dead in a hut next to a rice field in Jegong village,
Nganjuk Wilangan district on May 8, 1993.

A local district court found nine people, including military
personnel and Catur Putera Perkasa company director Yudi Astono,
guilty of premeditated murder. However, the Supreme Court
exonerated them in 1995 for "inadequate evidence." The court
verdict sparked outcry among labor activists nationwide, and
until today people still question the verdict.

Being a victim of injustice, Marsinah become a heroine to
workers throughout the country. Her story inspired workers to be
far braver and persevere when fighting for their cause, which in
turn contributed to the betterment of working conditions in the
country.

One result of the workers' struggle was Law No. 13/2005 on
labor, which accommodates a workers' interests.

"All this was just a dream during the repressive Soeharto
era," said the leader of the Surabaya Labor Forum, Jamaluddin.

But despite the progress, workers still face a long and
winding road to improved conditions. Changes in laws and
regulations have not automatically improved the lot of workers.
"There are still a number of irresponsible parties who take
advantage of the situation and don't provide workers with decent
pay," said Jamaluddin.

Some say workers are still classified as objects for
exploitation and not partners in work, as seen in the contract or
outsourcing employment system that has been passed into the labor
law, which without doubt, disadvantages workers.

"In reference to the outsourcing system, a company has the
sole right to dismiss a worker, while there's no assurance that a
worker will be employed permanently," a staff member of the labor
division of the Surabaya Legal Aid Institute, Ato'illah, told the
Post.

The law fails to impose punishment on companies that
unilaterally dismiss workers. "They just have to reinstate
workers who were arbitrarily dismissed. That isn't fair," said
Ato'illah.

And the issue of workers' welfare as per the standard
remuneration system, or regional minimum wage (UMK), though
previously respected, has the potential of developing problems.
One example of this is how earlier this year businesspeople in
Surabaya pressured the government in determining the UMK, leading
to workers' interests being given less priority. Workers had
demanded that the government increase the East Java regional
minimum wage 100 percent by next year, but the demand fell on
deaf ears.

East Java Governor Imam Utomo recently approved an increase of
only 13.5 percent to Rp 665,000 from the previous amount of Rp
578,500.

"How could the governor make such a decision? How can we
possibly live on just Rp 665,000 per month in a large city like
Surabaya?" asked Jamaluddin.

The governor may have made the controversial decision after
businesspeople warned the provincial administration that they
would close their factories if too high an increase was approved.
Businesspeople later deemed the 13.5 percent increase to be
acceptable.

"Businesspeople have limitations. If the regional minimum wage
was increased above that figure, many businesses would collapse
and workers would bear the brunt of the situation," said Wiem
Pattiradjawane, advisor to the East Java Employers Association
(Apindo).

East Java Statistics

1. Population: 34,899,236
a. Male : 17,181,981
b. Female: 17,717,255

2. Workforce:
a. Workers : 16,691,884
b. People of working age : 16,144,431
c. Unemployed : 967,397

3. Sources of livelihood:
a. Industrial sector (12.51%)

comprising males = 1,159,624 females = 928,227 = 2,087,851
people
b. Trade sector (18.80%)

comprising : M = 1,333,614 F = 1,804,805 = 3,138,429 people
c. Agricultural sector (46.18%)

comprising : M = 4,876,155 F = 2,832,085 = 7,708,240 people
d. Service sector (12.78%)

comprising : M = 1,287,008 F = 833,502 = 2,120,510 people

4. Industry:
a. Large plantations 645,317
b. Farms 158,194,22 hectares (ha)
c. Plantations 358,067 ha
d. Factories 224,934
e. Mining 2,942,260 ha

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Source: East Java Information Office 2005
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