Over 270,000 work hours lost in strikes this year
Over 270,000 work hours lost in strikes this year
JAKARTA (JP): A total of 270,305 working hours from January to
June were lost due to strikes this year, a union representative
said yesterday.
The chairman of the Jakarta office of the All-Indonesia
Workers Union, Fauzi Ibrahim, said 57 strikes were staged by
workers throughout Jakarta during the six-month period.
"It tends to increase every month," said Fauzi, who is also a
councilor from the Golkar faction.
He said that 15,589 workers were involved in the strikes.
In January there were seven strikes which involved 1,996
workers. In February one strike involved 175 workers, four
occurred in March with 12,922 workers, nine in April with 3,951
workers, 28 in May with 8,175 workers and eight in June, he said.
"The strikes caused losses, not only to the companies and the
country but also to the workers, as thousands of productive hours
were wasted," Fauzi said.
Fauzi said most strikes were caused by wage disagreements. He
urged the companies to pay the workers according to minimum wage
regulations.
He said strikes need not happen if the companies agree to pay
the workers in line with the government-set minimum wages and
provide various welfare plans.
He also said better treatment could help prevent labor unrest.
"Poor treatment could easily lead the workers to take part in
riots such as the recent one," he said.
No workers were involved in the riot, he said, but the
government and company managements should work together to
prevent such an incident.
He said there are five million workers in Jakarta working in
22,900 companies. However, only 221,000 are union members.
In January the government announced the minimum wages that
were to take effect in April. In Jakarta the wage level increased
from Rp 4,600 (US$2.00) to Rp 5,200 per day.
i The administration also issued provincial decree No.7/1989,
which requires companies to provide various welfare facilities
and allowances for their workers.
The decree stipulates that companies are obliged to provide
workers with medical services, religious centers and
uniforms.
Other facilities that are meant to be provided are cafeterias,
recreation and sports centers, transportation, housing,
dormitories and child care centers.
Insurance, cooperatives, and basic education for children are
also obligatory under the rule.
However, none of the companies in Jakarta have fulfilled all
of the obligations, Fauzi said, confirming recent observations
made by the council's commission for people's welfare. (yns)