Special talks held to clear hurdles on manpower bill

JAKARTA (JP): Legislators revealed yesterday that they had conducted informal talks with the central government during the current House recess, to clear hurdles in their deliberation of a controversial manpower bill.

A member of the House's special committee in charge of the manpower bill's deliberation, Lili Asdjudiredja, told The Jakarta Post yesterday that extra meetings were to help "seek a compromise over different views on crucial substances of the bill".

The closed meetings were held at the Horizon Hotel, North Jakarta, between July 25 and July 30.

Lili defended the meetings, saying they were not in violation of the House's internal regulations.

"The leadership of all four House factions approved the meetings, but we didn't make any decision during the talks," said Lili who is a member of the ruling Golkar faction.

During the meetings the government was represented by Director General for Industrial Relations and Labor Standards Soewarto.

Another committee member, Muhsin Bafadal of the United Development Party, said the meetings were to help House legislators beat the deadline set for the bill's deliberation.

The government has pushed legislators to pass the bill before their term ends on Sept. 30. The House is currently in recess until Aug. 16.

"Let's just say the meetings served as a forum for lobbying. We were afraid we couldn't debate the bill enough (before the deadline)," Muhsin said.

He said the informal talks were a success because of a government commitment to accommodate "public demands" in the bill.

"About 70 percent of demands lodged by the public and non- government organizations prior to deliberation may be included in the bill," he said without further elaboration.

Lili said among crucial issues in the talks on the bill were workers' rights to set up trade unions and to strike.

The new bill proposes that a trade union can only be set up if it has the approval of a majority of workers at a factory. The present law, enacted in 1969, requires only a minimum of 25 people to support such a union.

The bill also allows employers to withhold wages from workers who strike. Research conducted in 1993 and 1994 by the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute revealed that 90 percent of strikes in Greater Jakarta dealt with salary problems.

"Such informal talks are needed because each House faction and the government has its own stand on the issues. It's obvious that we are heading in the same direction after the meetings," he said.

He predicts that the House and the government will be able to reach an agreement when they regroup for the bill's deliberation on Aug. 18.

The House will resume Aug. 16 with a plenary session to hear President Soeharto's state-of-the-nation speech on the eve of Independence Day.

News of the closed talks on the bill drew criticism, with Apong Herlina of the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute saying it had prevented the public from monitoring the talks.

"There are many controversial issues concerning public interests that need to be adjusted. People have the right to know how the deliberation will proceed," Apong told the Post.

She said that although no decision was made during the meetings, they might result in some consensus between the House and the government on crucial issues of the bill.

"It is regrettable if consensus was reached behind closed doors," she said.

Apong predicted that the bill's set deadline would only generate a law that would lack protection for Indonesian workers, in the face of expatriates, who would have easier access to Indonesia's job market during the free trade era of the 21st century.

"The House shouldn't have to be pressured by the deadline, because the bill deals with Indonesian workers' rights. Deliberation should be handled by the next House," she said. (amd)