Manpower minister must prove skeptics wrong

Manpower minister must prove skeptics wrong

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta

Newly appointed Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Fahmi
Idris should not necessarily wait for the National Planning Board
(Bappenas) to draw up the tasks for his first 100 days in office
or to design long-term programs over the next five years, because
a number of urgent labor issues await his immediate attention.

What must he do to administer shock therapy? It is enough for
him to take action against the illicit smuggling rings involved
in the women and children trafficking and against those
unauthorized companies supplying workers overseas without
necessary documents -- or, he could enforce a harsh law on labor
export and protection.

To convince workers and labor unions? He should ensure that
all Muslim workers receive the obligatory annual Ramadhan bonus
at least seven days before Idul Fitri and that minimum wages are
set according to basic human needs -- or Keperluan Hidup Layak
(KHL) -- as required by the new Labor Law.

To win public support? He should take concrete measures to
enforce labor policies and regulations across all industries and
eliminate the high-cost economy, one of the main reasons why
Indonesia is no longer attractive to foreign investors.

However, many parties -- especially workers, labor unions and
non-governmental organizations (NGOs) dealing with labor issues
-- foresee a dark cloud covering the labor sector over the next
five years following the reappointment of Fahmi as manpower
minister as the successor to Jacob Nuwa Wea.

Strong skepticism has emerged among workers, labor unions and
NGOs in the manner by which the members of President Susilo
Bambang Yudhoyono's United Indonesia Cabinet were recruited and
in particular, in regards the new manpower minister's background
and track record.

Their difficulty in accepting the professionalism of the new
Cabinet and anticipating the changes it would make is
understandable, as political factions supporting Susilo's
candidacy were locked in a tug-of-war to procure ministerial
positions in the new government. This behind-the-scenes wrangling
was indicated by the mounting friction among stakeholders and the
delayed announcement of the Cabinet lineup following Susilo's
induction ceremony on Oct. 20.

According to reliable sources close to Susilo, Fahmi yielded
and finally accepted the post of manpower minister after having
lobbied for and failed to secure an appointment as trade
minister.

His lobbying was consistent with his background in business as
a president of the Kodel Group but, at the same time, it raised a
doubt among labor activists as to whether he was serious about
making changes in the labor sector.

Many parties have seen Fahmi's appointment to Susilo's Cabinet
within the context of ouster from the Golkar Party. Fahmi and
several other fellow politicians had campaigned for Susilo-Jusuf
Kalla in the Sept. 20 election runoff instead of the Megawati
Soekarnoputri-Hamzah Haz pair, which had the full backing of
Golkar and several other parties. Golkar thus dismissed Fahmi and
his cohorts for their dissidence.

Workers and labor activists became even more skeptical of
Fahmi because he was seen to be responsible for the rampant
extortion of returning migrant workers at Soekarno-Hatta
International Airport and for the liberalization of the national
insurance scheme for migrant workers.

Fahmi, who was manpower minister from May 23, 1998, through
November 1999 in the Habibie administration, came under fire when
he established Terminal 3 at the airport as a special lounge for
repatriating migrant workers. The new terminal instead became a
fertile hunting ground for corrupt officials, agents and public
transportation crew to extort the returning workers.

Meanwhile, his policy to liberalize the workers' insurance
scheme implemented by state-owned PT Jamsostek and his idea to
end Jamsostek's monopoly in the social security sector have
sparked strong objections from workers and labor unions.

Although many insurance companies have been appointed to
provide insurance for overseas migrant workers, most have been
left unprotected.

Against this fact, about Rp 5 billion has been collected per
month from departing workers, but almost nothing has been paid in
compensation to those who have experienced problems during either
their recruitment and training period or during their employment
abroad.

Furthermore, Fahmi also introduced the privatization of
workers' social security programs modeled on the in Chilean
system, but the controversial plan, which prompted resistance
from both employers and workers, disappeared from public view in
1999 during the transition to the Abdurrahman Wahid
administration.

If Fahmi has a strong commitment to progress and wants to
prove himself a professional, he must tackle several urgent and
challenging issues in both the short- and long term.

Fahmi should encourage employers, especially large investors,
to create industrial harmony in line with Law No. 13/2003 by
avoiding mass labor dismissals and at the very least, meeting the
minimum wage requirement.

He should also annul the circular issued by Nuwa Wea to delay
setting KHL-based minimum wages because of the prolonged economic
crisis and instead establish standard parameters for setting
minimum wages in accordance with the law. Companies facing
financial difficulties after being audited by public accountants
should be exempted from the new minimum wage rulings.

For the long term, he should review all regulations considered
unfavorable to the interests of employers and workers.

In addition, along with all stakeholders, Fahmi needs to clear
up all regulatory barriers that have made Indonesia unattractive
to foreign investors, including: free labor movement, illegal and
legal fees, invisible costs, absence of legal certainty, security
disturbances and damaged regional infrastructure.

By eliminating these investment barriers, the government could
convince the international community of an improved investment
climate and lead the way toward the gradual resolution of the
current 9.6-million strong unemployment.

The author is a staff writer at The Jakarta Post, and can be
reached at ridwan@thejakartapost.com.