Violence not answer to labor rifts

Violence not answer to labor rifts

JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto yesterday highlighted the
need for workers and managements to negotiate disputes and avoid
resorting to violence.

Commenting on the racially-tinged labor unrest in Medan, North
Sumatra, last week, the President urged all companies to respect
workers' rights by paying them the minimum wage and allowing them
to set up shop level unions.

He also called for a thorough investigation into the Medan
labor riots, which left one businessman dead and two others
injured. Two security officers were also hurt.

Manpower Minister Abdul Latief reported on the labor situation
in Medan to President Soeharto at the Merdeka Palace yesterday.

The minister reiterated his belief that the protests, which
led to the riot, did not truly reflect the aspirations of
workers' or their struggle for rights.

"Still, the President emphasized that all workers' rights have
to be respected in full, and that companies must abide by this
policy."

The riots had their origins in labor disputes going back as
far as February at many manufacturing companies in Medan.

The conflicts grew in the two months since as employers
continued to turn deaf ears on the demands for higher wages and
then they turned riotous on April 14 when more than 20,000
workers took to the streets.

Soeharto said entrepreneurs have a duty to ensure harmonious
relations with their workers, according to Latief yesterday.

This includes allowing workers to appoint their own
representatives of the All Indonesian Workers' Union (SPSI), he
added.

The presence of a union would pave the way for workers and
management to negotiate rather than become adversaries, the
President said.

In Medan, the North Sumatra security agency Bakorstanasda
yesterday negotiated with the Medan Legal Aid Institute (LBH) for
the hand over of Amosi Telaumbanua, whom the authorities say
instigated last week's riots.

Amosi, who has been on the run since the first signs of
violence on April 14, said in an interview with Tempo weekly
magazine that he was prepared to turn himself in if provided
guarantees of his safety.

Amosi said he had been maltreated in previous arrests which
were also related to labor disputes.

"We haven't reached an agreement yet," said Alamsyah Hamdani,
chairman of the LBH office in Medan yesterday after negotiations
with Bakorstanasda.

Deadline

The security agency has reportedly given LBH an April 30
deadline to hand over Amosi, who chairs the local chapter of the
Indonesian Prosperous Trade Union (SBSI), a rival organization to
the government-backed SPSI.

The director of the International Labor Office (ILO) in
Jakarta, Herman Van der Laan, yesterday said the events in Medan
demonstrate the failure of the basic industrial relations system.

"Industrial relations mechanisms in Indonesia have not kept
pace with the rapid rate of industrialization," he said.

According to Herman, a sufficient mechanism to deal with the
plight of labor in the workplace does not exist, thus creating
tension and the physical display recently witnessed in North
Sumatra.

The Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) in Jakarta gave
its wholehearted support to the workers' demands in Medan.

"It is ironic that workers are being paid less amidst the
success of national development," YLBHI said in a statement
signed by spokesman Hendardi.

Director of the Institute for the Defense of Human Rights
H.J.C. Princen criticized the government for refusing to
recognize the SBSI.

"We wish to remind the government that freedom of association
is guaranteed by the constitution," he said. (rms/rmn/mds)