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
----------------------------------- Source: East Java Information Office 2005 -----------------------------------