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.