RI set to sever trade-labor link

RI set to sever trade-labor link

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia plans to fight all out at the upcoming
annual conference of the International Labor Organization (ILO)
to stymie attempts by industrialized countries to link trade with
labor conditions.

Minister of Manpower Abdul Latief told reporters yesterday
that Indonesia has already forged a common stand with the other
five members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN) in a meeting in Singapore last week.

Latief, who will head Indonesia's delegation to the June 6-10
meeting in Geneva, said he plans to coordinate another round of
meetings with ministers from the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) ahead
of the ILO conference.

"The President fully supports the steps taken by ASEAN,"
Latief said after meeting with President Soeharto at the latter's
Jakarta residence on Jl. Cendana. "He said this is not only for
the sake of Indonesia, but also of all the other developing
countries."

Many industrialized countries are seeking to link trade with
labor conditions and human rights issues, including the option of
blocking trade with countries that fail to respect workers'
rights. The fight is now on to include a clause to that effect in
the ILO convention and at the newly created World Trade
Organization (WTO).

Indonesia has opposed this link as a part of the policy that
has also led the nation to reject attempts by industrialized
countries to link foreign aid with human rights conditions.
Indonesian officials argue that these sorts of connections
amount to disrespect for the sovereignty of recipient nations.

Indonesia's delegation to the ILO meeting will include
representatives from the All Indonesian Workers Union (SPSI), the
employers association (Apindo), the House of Representatives and
an advisory team. (emb)