Number of workers' strikes soared in 1994
Number of workers' strikes soared in 1994
JAKARTA (JP): All was not well on the labor front in
Indonesia, at least not in 1994.
The All Indonesian Workers Association said yesterday that the
year saw a total of 1,130 workers' strike, an increase of 350
percent over 1993, which recorded only 312 strikes.
The association's chairman Imam Sudarwo said the strikes were
all conducted because workers were pressing for their "normative"
rights, from demanding that they be paid at least the minimum
wage level and overtime and holiday to demands that they be
covered by the workers social insurance program.
West Java has the worst record with 581 strikes, followed by
East Java with 200, Jakarta 146, North Sumatra 140, Central Java
54, Riau five, West Kalimantan three and South Sumatra one.
These strikes could not be considered disruptive to national
stability given that the workers went on industrial action to
demand what was rightfully theirs as recognized by the
legislation and various regulations, Imam told reporters.
Imam appealed to the government, in this case the Ministry of
Manpower, to be more active in ensuring that employers comply
with labor legislation, even to the point of prosecuting them.
He said in recent months the government has been showing a
greater willingness to punish delinquent employers and this is
encouraging.
He also said that apart from the soaring number of strikes,
1994 has not been all that bad for workers.
There was an increase in the minimum wage, greater protection
for workers, with the government compelling companies to enlist
workers in the social security program, greater freedom for
workers to form their union representatives, and also a
government ruling that compels companies to pay their workers a
13th month salary each year.
The few remaining problems on labor issues stemmed from the
attitude of some employers who still treated workers as merely
tools of production and not partners as they should be.
These employers only gave in to the workers' demands after
strikes, he noted.
He said the association hopes the government will further
increase minimum wage levels in 1995 to at least equal the
minimum decent living requirement. The minimum wage should no
longer be judged in terms of the workers' minimum physical
requirement.
On unionization of workers, he said only 11,414 out of
approximately 40,000 registered companies have allowed their
workers to set up association representatives. Of these, only
8,100 companies have signed collective labor agreements with the
workers' representatives. (emb)