Union says labor relations remain tense in Indonesia
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Despite the lifting of the worst restrictions on labor union rights in 2000, many others still remain and labor relations have become increasingly tense, with many incidents of violent physical attacks on strikers, according to the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU).
ICFTU in its 2002 report Indonesia: Annual survey of violations of trade union rights released on June 19, 2002 through the Global Unions' website global-unions.org said that in one incident there was an attack on sleeping strikers, in which two people were killed.
It was referring to the death of two workers of footwear factory PT Kadera in East Jakarta who were killed when paramilitary groups launched an attack on the demonstrators who were protesting the company's closure in March 2001.
ICFTU represents 157 million workers in 225 affiliated organizations in 148 countries and territories. The All- Indonesian Workers Union Federation (FSPSI) and the Indonesian Prosperous Trade Union (SBSI) are ICFTU's affiliated members in Indonesia.
Since former president Soeharto's regime ended in May 1998, Indonesia has thrown out its draconian labor laws which prevented workers from forming trade unions and allowed the use of military force to settle industrial disputes.
Workers are by law free to unionize and draw up their own rules.
Under the labor union law endorsed in 2000, unions must be registered with the Manpower and Transmigration Ministry and they are required to have a least 10 members, a reasonable limitation by international standards. In addition, there can be more than one union at a workplace and those who prevent a worker from joining a union are liable to a fine or imprisonment.
The law gives civil servants the right to organize, which they did not have beforehand.
The report also noted a number of other restrictions in the legislation allowing the court to dissolve a trade union if its basis conflicts with the 1945 Constitution, or the Pancasila, the national ideology which emphasizes consensus and national unity, or if its members or leaders have committed a crime against national security in its name and have been sentenced to at least five years in prison for that reason.
"Once a union is dissolved, its leaders cannot form another for six years," the report quoted the law.
The law also allows the government to interfere in the labor unions' internal affairs since the unions are obliged to keep the government informed of nominations to and changes in their governing bodies, on pain of losing official recognition, and therefore the right to represent their workers.
During the recent May Day, thousands of workers from numerous labor unions went on strike to protest poor labor conditions in the country and demanded the government set June 6 as May Day instead of May 1, to commemorate the murder of labor activist Marsinah who was killed after organizing a strike in her workplace in the East Java town of Sidoarjo on May 6, 1995.
The report said the law does not guarantee workers the right to strike because they are not allowed to stage a strike while negotiating with their employers.
It said the regulation requires workers and their management to sign collective labor agreements (KKB) within 30 days and they must be submitted to the Ministry of Manpower for mediation, conciliation or arbitration.
"The law does not address the settlement of jurisdictional disputes between different trade unions at the same workplace," said the report.
Quoting SBSI Chairman Muchtar Pakpahan and other labor activists, IFCTU said relations between the government, big business and workers remains tense.
"When workers try to set up trade unions, companies often either dismiss or demote union leaders and members, making workers afraid of organizing or joining a union. Trade unionists also cite a growing number of attacks on their organizers by paramilitary groups supported by the military and police and paid for by employers to intimidate workers or break strikes," said the report.