NGOs urge government to review labor laws

NGOs urge government to review labor laws

JAKARTA (JP): More than 100 Indonesian and foreign non-
governmental non-organizations called on the government to review
the country's labor laws and to further increase official minimum
wages.

The International NGO Forum on Indonesian Development (INFID),
in a statement at the end of its three-day annual conference in
Canberra on Sunday, acknowledged the progress Indonesia had made
on the labor front these last few years.

They hailed the government's resolution in enforcing minimum
wage regulations but felt that minimum wages should be raised
further to give workers a better living, according to the
statement which was made available yesterday.

Nineteen Indonesian NGOs participated. They included the
Indonesian Consumers Organization, the Indonesian Forum for
Environment, the Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy, and
the Center for Women's Communication and Information. Their 115
foreign counterparts included Aid Watch of Australia, Article 19
of Great Britain, Bank Information Center and Environmental
Defense Fund of the United States of America, Canadian NGO
Network on Indonesia, Japan NGO Network on Indonesia and the
Netherlands Organization for International Development
Cooperation.

Together they make up INFID, which has met annually to discuss
economic development problems in the country, especially in
relation to foreign assistance used in funding the development.

In the face of objections from some companies, the government
on April 1 went ahead in enforcing the new minimum wages which
represented an average increase of 10.63 increase over the
previous sums. Some intransigent companies have since been hit by
workers strikes over demands for pay hikes.

While praising the government, the INFID statement pointed out
that the official minimum wage levels set by the government
barely meet the subsistence level as defined by the government
itself.

The NGOs said existing labor laws have not made enough
provisions on the question of child workers, women workers,
migrant workers and indigenous people.

Besides labor, INFID also reviewed other development issues in
Indonesia.

On land development, the conference called for a review of the
Agrarian Law to accord greater protection to the indigenous
people's rights to land.

"Article three of the Law does not guarantee the Indonesian
indigenous people's rights to manage their natural resources
according to their own traditions," read the statement.

The conference also called on the government to minimize the
conversion of agricultural land into industrial sites.

It argued that because of financial pressures, many local
administrations have been raising money locally through allowing
the rapid conversion of land. "The central government has to
share more of its resources with the regional administrations,"
it said.

The groups urged the government to weigh carefully the
advantages and disadvantages of its plan to build nuclear power
plants in Indonesia.

It said that the government should encourage a free debate
about the nuclear power plant issue before making its decision on
whether or not to go ahead with the plan. (imn)