SBSI threatens to organize more labor strikes

JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Prosperous Labor Union (SBSI) threatens to organize more strikes if the government refuses to raise the minimum wages for workers throughout the country.

"We will organize labor strikes in Lampung, Tangerang and Surabaya if the government turns down the demands like the one voiced by workers in Medan last week," said Sunarti, SBSI vice chairperson, here yesterday.

In last week's protest rally, which later turned into a bloody riot, the 10,000 workers also demanded an official recognition to the SBSI, the country's only independent trade union.

Sunarti told The Jakarta Post she refused to entertain the notion that SBSI be held responsible for the riot and called on the local authorities to investigate the case thoroughly.

She said certain individuals and gangs have abused the labor rally to create chaos in the city and to discredit the government.

"We have evidence that the riots were masterminded by certain individuals who are against the Indonesians of Chinese origin which are playing a dominant role in the province's economy," she said.

Sunarti said she considered the workers' demands to be reasonable and humane. "The current minimum wage level set by the government is irrational because it is too small to meet the human basic needs."

Besides, the government should learn from the strike that SBSI has gained footholds here and, therefore, should be recognized," she said.

Demonstration

About 10,000 of workers staged a two-day demonstration last week to urge North Sumatra Governor Radja Inal Siregar to raise the daily minimum wage in the province from Rp 3,100 (US$1.44) to Rp 7,000. They also demanded that the government accept SBSI's existence. Finally, they required that the government conduct a thorough investigation in to the death of a fellow worker, who was found floating in Deli River last month.

The labor protest Friday left one man dead, 12 injured, 150 shops ransacked and looted, and 12 cars set ablaze.

Yesterday, despite the guarantees from the local military authority, the situation in the North Sumatran capital city remained tense.

About 8,000 workers in several factories there and in the city outskirts continued their demonstrations to press their cause. Thousands of police and security officers were still deployed to the industrial zone located between Medan and the seaport town of Belawan. They were also posted in shopping areas where shops and supermarkets remained closed.

Illegal

Meanwhile, Director General for Industrial Relations and Labor Standards Suwarto told the Post that the worker rallies were illegal because they were staged without a permit from the Medan security authorities.

"Workers, of course, have the right to go to strike but they must have a permit from authorities, or at least the police, beforehand," he said.

"The Medan labor rallies were not proposed to the local authorities and, therefore, whoever has organized and masterminded them should be prosecuted."

He pointed out that the rallies and riots were not a labor but criminal case that affected the national and economic stability in the province.

He appreciated the action taken by the Northern Sumatra Security Agency (Bakorstanasda) in handling the case.

Bakorstanasda is conducting an investigation of 20 strikers involved in the riots. There were 60 others released on Saturday.

When asked about the strikers' demands, Suwarto said they were unreasonable.

"It is impossible for the government to raise the minimum wage levels arbitrarily before the local board for wage assessment proposes it.

"How can the workers set such a high rate. Even in Jakarta the daily minimum wage is only set at Rp 3,800," he said. He added that the daily minimum wage levels were set in accordance to price index in regions.

He said the time had not yet come when workers could set up their own labor union that would be separate from the government- backed All Indonesian Workers Union (SPSI.)

"What the government is doing now is educating workers to organize in the workplace," he said, in reference to the ministerial decree on labor organizations, issued in Jan. 9, this year. (rmn/rms)