Sudharmono sees collusion between union chiefs and management
JAKARTA (JP): According to the government's chief ideologue Sudharmono, industrial relations in Indonesia suffer from chronic turbulence because of collusion between union leaders, government representatives and management.
The tripartite boards are the channel through which workers and management representatives are supposed to resolve their differences. However, according to Sudharmono, these boards have been turned into a forum where labor leaders and government representatives negotiate with management to satisfy their own personal interests.
He stated that this type of selling out is almost always to the detriment of labor, but can often hurt management and labor as well.
"Don't expect industrial harmony as long as collusion continues to occur," said Sudharmono, the former vice president who has been appointed as a presidential advisor on matters relating to the state ideology Pancasila.
The seminar yesterday sought ways of promoting Pancasila in Industrial Relations, a concept developed in 1974 but whose implementation was never clear.
Sudharmono, known for speaking his mind with no holds barred, said it is through the tripartite boards that management pay off government officials and even union representatives in order to vote in their favor.
These pay-off's make up for what entrepreneurs often call invisible costs which they have to budget, often at the cost of suppressing workers' salaries, he said.
The boards are set up as a forum for negotiations between workers and management. It has been widely reported in the past that the workers' representatives were often picked by management rather than selected by their colleagues.
Sudharmono said the Pancasila Industrial Relations was developed using Indonesian cultural values and experiences. Its salient points include the need to resolve differences in a "familial spirit" the use of negotiations, greater management transparency, and partnership between employers and workers.
Last resort
The concept falls short of barring industrial strikes but stressed that this weapon of the workers should only be used as a last resort in the event that negotiations break down.
Sudharmono's criticisms of the tripartite boards was another slap in the face of the All Indonesian Workers Union (SPSI), which in the past has been criticized as being ineffective in fighting for the interests of its members.
SPSI is the only union recognized by the government to represent workers in negotiations with management.
Former SPSI chairman Agus Sudono said that many SPSI executives have not grasped the Pancasila industrial relations concept.
SPSI Deputy Secretary General Wilhelmus Bokha told The Jakarta Post that in essence the Pancasila industrial relations concept is not dissimilar to those applied in other countries.
Bokha said that the most important thing was implementation and on this front, government and management representatives have abused the concept for their own personal gain.
"Many government officials and employers have intimidated workers who were planning to strike by saying that such an action runs counter to Pancasila," he said.
He also questioned whether the government and employers were truly ready to implement the concept. "The concept assumes democratic leadership and political openness."
Apindo Secretary General Rienaldo Thamrin however blamed the lack of professionalism of workers representatives in the tripartite boards.
"If SPSI is independent and professional, it will go along way in improving its image in the eyes of workers," he said.(rms)