Privatization 'must not ignore workers'
Privatization 'must not ignore workers'
Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
As opposition from workers to privatization drives mounts,
scholars are calling for more dialog and a longer preparation
period before a state-owned enterprise is privatized.
They also urge the government to draw a clear line between
companies that are for sale and those it wants to keep.
"Privatization in any country brings layoffs. There must be
dialog between the employer and the workers because it is a very
sensitive situation," said Dradjad H. Wibowo of the Institute for
Development, Economics, and Finance (Indef) here on Monday.
According to Dradjad, the preparation needed before the
privatization took place not only covered technical and financial
aspects, but social and political ones too.
Employers ought to inform workers about what their future
might be after the company was privatized, he said.
"Maybe, employers can offer early pensions or partnerships to
the workers. Principally, the companies should develop
entrepreneurship in the workers," Dradjad told The Jakarta Post
by phone.
Dradjad was asked to comment on the opposition to
privatization articulated by nearly 120 labor activists during a
national conference here on Sunday.
Closing their three-day national conference, the labor
activists jointly rejected the privatization of state-owned
enterprises.
Dita Indah Sari, one activist, said free trade and
privatization had not brought prosperity, equality or peace, but
only misery to Indonesian workers.
Such opposition, Dradjad said, was to be expected, as it had
also taken place in Australia when the government planned to sell
Qantas, an airline company.
The opposition later died down after the privatization process
was shown to be a success, he added.
Meanwhile, Boni Setiawan from the Institute for Global Justice
suggested that the government differentiate between those state
companies acceptable for privatization and those that were not.
According to Boni, state companies that managed essential
public services, such as electricity, transportation or water
supply, ought not to be sold to private companies.
"I think it would be better to boost the performance of the
state companies rather than selling them to private companies,"
Boni told the Post.
Both Dradjad and Boni agreed that state companies within the
agriculture sector (PTP) ought to be privatized because they had
become a haven for corruption.
The government has planned this year to sell 25 state
companies to the private sector in a move to earn Rp 6.5 trillion
to plug the budget deficit.
Among the state companies listed for sale are PT Indo Farma
(pharmaceuticals), PT Pupuk Kaltim (fertilizers), PT Krakatau
Steel (steel), PT Telkom and PT Indosat (telecommunications), PT
Angkasa Pura II (airports), and PT Pelindo (seaports).
The government also planned to sell PT Tambang Timah Bukit
Asam (mining), PT Semen Gresik (cement), and PT Kimia Farma
(pharmaceuticals).
Dradjad reiterated that before privatization took place the
government should first of all study if any companies were
socially or politically sensitive to local people.
He added that the process of privatization should not be
carried out purely to obtain money to plug the state deficit.
"If the privatization process were solely aimed at reaching
the target, it would ignore the social and political aspects," he
said.
Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
As opposition from workers to privatization drives mounts,
scholars are calling for more dialog and a longer preparation
period before a state-owned enterprise is privatized.
They also urge the government to draw a clear line between
companies that are for sale and those it wants to keep.
"Privatization in any country brings layoffs. There must be
dialog between the employer and the workers because it is a very
sensitive situation," said Dradjad H. Wibowo of the Institute for
Development, Economics, and Finance (Indef) here on Monday.
According to Dradjad, the preparation needed before the
privatization took place not only covered technical and financial
aspects, but social and political ones too.
Employers ought to inform workers about what their future
might be after the company was privatized, he said.
"Maybe, employers can offer early pensions or partnerships to
the workers. Principally, the companies should develop
entrepreneurship in the workers," Dradjad told The Jakarta Post
by phone.
Dradjad was asked to comment on the opposition to
privatization articulated by nearly 120 labor activists during a
national conference here on Sunday.
Closing their three-day national conference, the labor
activists jointly rejected the privatization of state-owned
enterprises.
Dita Indah Sari, one activist, said free trade and
privatization had not brought prosperity, equality or peace, but
only misery to Indonesian workers.
Such opposition, Dradjad said, was to be expected, as it had
also taken place in Australia when the government planned to sell
Qantas, an airline company.
The opposition later died down after the privatization process
was shown to be a success, he added.
Meanwhile, Boni Setiawan from the Institute for Global Justice
suggested that the government differentiate between those state
companies acceptable for privatization and those that were not.
According to Boni, state companies that managed essential
public services, such as electricity, transportation or water
supply, ought not to be sold to private companies.
"I think it would be better to boost the performance of the
state companies rather than selling them to private companies,"
Boni told the Post.
Both Dradjad and Boni agreed that state companies within the
agriculture sector (PTP) ought to be privatized because they had
become a haven for corruption.
The government has planned this year to sell 25 state
companies to the private sector in a move to earn Rp 6.5 trillion
to plug the budget deficit.
Among the state companies listed for sale are PT Indo Farma
(pharmaceuticals), PT Pupuk Kaltim (fertilizers), PT Krakatau
Steel (steel), PT Telkom and PT Indosat (telecommunications), PT
Angkasa Pura II (airports), and PT Pelindo (seaports).
The government also planned to sell PT Tambang Timah Bukit
Asam (mining), PT Semen Gresik (cement), and PT Kimia Farma
(pharmaceuticals).
Dradjad reiterated that before privatization took place the
government should first of all study if any companies were
socially or politically sensitive to local people.
He added that the process of privatization should not be
carried out purely to obtain money to plug the state deficit.
"If the privatization process were solely aimed at reaching
the target, it would ignore the social and political aspects," he
said.