Megawati concerned over RI workers

Megawati concerned over RI workers

Ridwan Max Sijabat, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

President Megawati Soekarnoputri has expressed deep concern over
the poor conditions of Indonesian workers, both at home and
abroad, stressing the seriousness of unemployment and poverty and
the threats they posed to the security and political situation.

In the meantime, hundreds of workers went on strike at the
Manpower and Transmigration Ministry on Monday to protest against
the increasing number of labor dismissals and to complain that
the labor laws were not adequately protecting them.

The President explained that poor labor conditions were partly
a result of an absence of harmonious relations between workers
and their employers.

"The increasing number of strikes, ranging from demands for
better pay and benefits to opposition to the labor laws, indicate
that the laws have not yet been able to bring about a sense of
justice for all concerned," she said in her state speech to the
House of Representatives in observance of the 59th anniversary of
Indonesia's Independence Day here on Monday.

In a bid to reform the labor sector, the government has
ratified International Labor Organization (ILO) Convention No.
87, which paved the way for Law No. 20/2001 on freedom of
association but only a handful of the 76 labor unions registered
with the Manpower Ministry have represented the workers. Law No.
13/2003 on labor rights enacted in 2003 to replace Law No.
14/1969 and Law No. 25/1997 have sparked strong opposition from
numerous labor unions and the Association of Indonesia's
Employers (Apindo) as neither believes it protects their own
interests.

The government has also enacted Law No. 20/2003 on labor
inspection, but actual law enforcement has remained weak, largely
because of a lack of qualified, professional labor inspectors and
often haphazard implementation of regional autonomy laws by the
dozens of local administrations around the country.

Hundreds of workers from numerous companies in Tangerang and
labor rights activists grouped in the Confederation of Indonesian
Labor Unions (GSBI) held a demonstration at the Manpower and
Transmigration Ministry compound on Monday, demanding Manpower
and Transmigration Ministry to step down because of his failure
to fight for workers' aspirations.

The activists said the package of labor laws put together
after the reform era began a few years ago have taken the side of
investors and employers and, therefore, the government should
revise the laws by giving the workers' interests more emphasis.

The poor labor conditions have also drawn the attention of
U.S.-based Human Rights Watch and the Asian Labor Network on
International Finance Institutions (ALNI).

President Megawati also expressed great concern over the
suffering of many Indonesian workers abroad, saying the
government's diplomatic efforts have yet to guarantee their
protection during their employment overseas, the recruiting
process and on their return.

She also expressed concern over Malaysia's planned mass
deportation of some 700,000 Indonesians working illegally there.
She said that a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that the two
countries signed in May was expected to be enforced immediately
to help reduce such labor problems in the future.

The MoU stipulates the official procedure in the recruitment
of Indonesian workers to be employed in the formal sector in
Malaysia. The two countries have yet to sign another MoU on the
placement of workers in the informal sector in that country. Of
the total of nearly 1.5 million Indonesian citizens working in
Malaysia, almost 90 percent are employed in the informal sector,
on plantations, construction projects and at shopping malls.

The President also stressed the seriousness of the
unemployment problem, saying it was not just an economic issue
but also one that could mean security and political problems as
more and more people were losing jobs each year.

Megawati also made the point that unemployment and poverty
were linked, a situation where the people cannot meet their basic
needs such as food, education and health.

"Unemployment and poverty form a vicious circle that causes
the majority of the people (affected) not only to live in a poor
condition, but also unable to take advantage of opportunities
around the world. A majority of the people have to compete with
one another to get white collar jobs with low pay both at home
and overseas," the President explained.