Mushrooming labor unions do not benefit workers

Mushrooming labor unions do not benefit workers

Ridwan Max Sijabat
The Jakarta Post
Jakarta

An expert expressed his deep concern over the huge number of
labor unions that have sprung up in the reform era (since 1998),
saying that this condition has weakened workers' bargaining
power.

"With the existence of 75 labor unions registered with the
Manpower and Transmigration Ministry, Indonesia has gone beyond
the reform. This has proven that the huge number of labor unions
has not benefited workers nor employers," H. Suwarto said while
launching his book Hubungan Industri dalam praktek (industrial
relations in practice) here on Thursday.

Suwarto, also former director general for industrial relations
and labor supervision at the ministry, blamed the elite group for
the huge number, since most labor unions did not grow from the
grass roots but were established by groups seeking to fight for
their own political interests.

"Out of the number, only a few (labor unions) were established
by workers to represent them in negotiating with their employers.
The remaining majority have few supporters, or are affiliated
with certain political parties or certain religious
organizations," he said.

According to data provided by the Manpower Ministry, the
Confederation of Indonesian-Workers Union (KSPSI) and the
Indonesian Prosperous Labor Union, are the only two major unions
with two million members or more.

He explained that Indonesia has been "set back" to the period
between 1955 and 1959 during which the labor movement was
politicized. Almost all labor unions established during this
period were closely affiliated with political parties and they
did little to advance the conditions of workers.

"The more labor unions there are, the weaker the workers'
bargaining position is. Workers have been fragmented into small
and weak unions and this condition has confused employers... you
can imagine... if an employer has to face ten or twenty unions in
negotiating to reach a collective labor agreement (KKB)." he
said. He cited the United States, as having more than 100 million
workers, but only AFL-CIO, a merged confederation of a huge
number of labor unions and professionals' associations.

Under former president Soeharto's militaristic-style regime,
almost all labor unions were forced to shut down and only the
All-Indonesian Workers Union (SPSI) -- established by the
regime's kinos (supporters) -- was allowed to represent workers.

"We need one or two labor confederations from the grass roots
to represent workers," he added.

Former manpower minister Cosmas Batubara called for the
intensified education of workers, to improve their skills both in
the work place and in bargaining with employers, two factors he
said contribute to the establishment of harmonious industrial
relations.

He said that the greater portion of the around-110-million
work force in the country had no negotiating skills and most
labor activists were also lacking both training and education.

"For example, many industrial disputes have emerged from
workers' inability to understand the balance sheets of the
companies where they are employed," he said. He concluded that,
employers and the government should play an equal role in
reaching industrial harmony and a conducive investment climate in
the country.

Manpower and Transmigration Minister Jacob Nuwa Wea, stressed
that the readiness of both employers and workers was essential in
the acceleration of the country's economy and the improvement of
workers' social welfare.

"Both workers and employers should have a sense of goodwill,
in developing good industrial relations based on the law and the
real condition of the companies where they are employed," he
said.

Both Suwarto and Cosmas blamed weak law enforcement, besides
security issues, for the reluctance of foreign investors to
invest in Indonesia and the recent relocation of a number of
companies overseas.

"We have a better law to cope with industrial disputes and to
provide assurance for investors, but the government has yet to
fully enforce it," said Suwarto, referring to the recent
industrial dispute in the coal mining company PT Kaltim Prima
Coal in Sangatta, East Kalimantan.

According to Cosmas, KPC's workers recently went on strike for
weeks, to demand a bonus from the company's sale that they had no
right to receive. The government did nothing to prevent the
workers from striking, he said.

Suwarto regretted that the workers had acted after winning
support from the Kutai administration, which also has an interest
in the company.

He said he could understand the management's rejection of the
workers' demands, because the workers had made unreasonable
demands which they were not entitled to.