Special talks held to clear hurdles on manpower bill

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)