Skepticism greets manpower minister

Ridwan Max Sijabat, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Employers and unions have voiced early doubts about whether newly appointed Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Fahmi Idris will be able to improve the country's poor labor conditions and relations.

Indonesian Employers' Association (Apindo) secretary general Djimanto said being an employer would make it difficult for Fahmi to deal with labor disputes.

But Djimanto said it would be unfair to criticize Fahmi at the start of his five-year tenure.

"It is wise to give the new minister the first 100 days to learn about the urgent and key issues and to set his own programs," he told The Jakarta Post here on Friday.

Fahmi is the president of the Kodel Group holding company.

Djimanto attributed the poor labor conditions in the country to employers who ignored core labor standards, including minimum wages, working hours and social security programs, the high-cost economy, the absence of legal certainty, the lack of security and the unregulated labor movement.

C.H. David, chairman of the Transportation Trade Union in the Confederation of the All-Indonesian Workers Union (KSPSI), and Wahyu Susilo, coordinator of the Migrant Care non-governmental organization, said Fahmi's appointment as manpower minister was controversial because he was a businessman.

"All labor unions know of Fahmi's poor performance when he was entrusted to handle the portfolio between 1998 and 1999," he said. Fahmi served as a manpower minister under President B.J. Habibie.

David said Fahmi was the man behind the liberalization of the basic protection program for Indonesian workers, including those working overseas, and the controversial establishment of a special terminal for migrant workers at the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Cengkareng in 1999.

Since the terminal was created there have been many instances of the extortion of migrant workers by immigration officials when they returned home.

Fahmi was earlier thrown out of the Golkar Party for supporting Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in the presidential election runoff.

As manpower minister in 1999, he lifted ministerial decrees requiring Indonesian workers overseas and expatriates working in Indonesia to participate in the state social security program (Jamsostek) and deregulated the system, allowing private companies to provide social security schemes and ending PT Jamsostek's monopoly.

Former manpower minister Bomer Pasaribu said Fahmi's first big challenges were the issues of annual bonuses, minimum wages and Malaysia's plan to deport some 700,000 illegal Indonesian migrants.

Meanwhile, Yunus Yamani, the chairman of the Indonesian Migrant Workers Suppliers Union (Himsataki), called on Fahmi to introduce programs to protect migrant workers during their recruitment at home and their employment overseas.