Rights commission observes progress in labor conditions
Rights commission observes progress in labor conditions
JAKARTA (JP): The National Commission on Human Rights has
noticed an improvement in the labor condition in the country,
although some employers continued to repress the rights of their
workers.
Brig. Gen. (ret.) Roekmini Koesoemo Astoeti, a commission
member, hailed the government for its efforts to promote the
laborers' welfare by raising their minimum wage levels.
"I see that the (labor) condition is getting better,"
Roekmini, Secretary for the Sub Commission for the Education and
Public Awareness on Human Rights, told The Jakarta Post yesterday
after attending a meeting on the settlement of a labor dispute in
her office.
The government increased the minimum wage levels in nine
provinces by between 19 and 35 percent last month. The other 10
provinces raised theirs in January and April. The daily minimum
wages range from Rp 2,500 (US$1.15) to Rp 6,750 (US$3.12).
Beginning next April, increases in regional minimum wage
levels will be made simultaneously nationwide.
Roekmini noticed that many workers were still deprived of
their rights as their employers failed to abide by government
regulations on labor, including on minimum wage levels.
The employers were aware that the number of job seekers is
much larger than the available jobs. Some exploiters would not
hesitate to exploit this condition to their advantage, she said.
Roekmini also rebuked employers for discouraging workers from
trying to form unions under the umbrella of the All Indonesia
Workers' Union (SPSI). At the same time, she called on workers to
obey the manpower ministerial decree on the procedures of the
establishment of trade unions.
Discuss
According to the decree, workers must discuss the
establishment of the union with their employers. Labor activists
recently urged the government to withdraw the decree, saying that
this could affect the union's independence.
Defending the decree, Roekmini said that it was necessary for
workers to discuss the plan to form a labor union with their
employers to maintain harmony in the workplace.
Roekmini however declined to comment on the controversial
Indonesian Prosperous Labor Union (SBSI), which is not recognized
by the government.
The government accused SBSI of provoking laborers to stage
protests and violent demonstrations. It is planning to prosecute
its leader Mochtar Pakpahan for his alleged involvement in the
April riots in Medan, which resulted in the death of one
businessman.
Last week several U.S. Congress members urged the U.S. Trade
Representative to revoke the GSP (Generalized System of
Preferences) trade privilege status given to Indonesia because
the of the worsening labor situation there.
They cited as an example the arrest of Mochtar and several
other labor activists, a move which they claim reflects the
deprivation of labor rights by the authorities.
Roekmini and two other members of the National Commission on
Human Rights, Djoko Soegianto and Bambang W. Soeharto, yesterday
met with executives of PT Putra Surya Pahala (PSP), officials of
the manpower agency and the Bogor chapter of SPSI executives to
discuss a labor dispute within the company.
The commission members called for PT PSP and its lawyer, Frans
Hendra Winarta, to review their decision to dismiss some 60
workers who recently staged a strike to protest their employer's
involvement in the establishment of an SPSI unit in the company.
(sim)