Workers' conditions remain poor in Indonesia: Activists
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Despite the reform era and increasing foreign criticism, the conditions for workers in Indonesia remain poor both economically and politically and so far, no action has been made to rectify it, according to labor activists.
Chairwoman of the National Front for the Struggle of Indonesian Workers (FNBI) Dita Indah Sari said that abuse of workers' rights was still widespread, while the government had yet to show political commitment to improving their socioeconomic conditions.
"The presence of two controversial bills scheduled to be passed into law next September is real evidence that the government is not committed to developing democracy and to respecting the right of workers to strike.
"The repressive approach deployed by security authorities in handling labor strikes is further evidence that violations of the freedom of association guaranteed by the ILO Convention and labor law are still rampant," Dita said while leading a labor strike to protest the two labor bills near the State Palace here on Tuesday.
Dita, who was once jailed for leading a violent labor strike in the East Java capital, Surabaya, in 1998, said most labor unions and workers opposed the two bills, which they considered benefited employers.
She said the bill on settlement of labor disputes would not be effective in solving labor disputes because investors or employers would be able financially to "buy" court verdicts that benefited them.
"The bill on labor development and protection is not democratic, as it reduces workers' rights to a minimum. It should not limit workers' rights to go on strike to fight for their interests in labor disputes with employers. Furthermore, employers violating workers' rights should be taken to court, instead of merely being given warnings," she said.
She regretted that the reform movement had hitherto been unable to change the situation for workers, as current conditions were substantially similar to those during the New Order era.
The recent ILO meeting in Geneva with the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) recently expressed its deep concern over the blatant violation of freedom of association in Indonesia.
Chief of the labor advocacy section of the Consultation and Information Institution (Leksip) in East Kalimantan Methodius Nyompe said the unfavorable situation for workers had a lot to do with the lack of government attention toward labor problems and a proinvestment labor policy.
"Labor conditions will remain poor as the government has yet to pay serious attention to improving workers' social welfare. Indonesia will remain a promising land for investors in Indonesia because of the cheap labor policy," Antara news agency quoted him as saying in Samarinda on Tuesday.
Nyompe denied that the labor policy had discouraged foreign investors from investing in Indonesia. He said no foreign investors had relocated their investment away from Indonesia due to labor strikes.
"Indonesia was not conducive to investment because of lack of legal certainties and political instability," he said.
Chairman of the Forestry and Timber Trade Union (Kahutindo) in East Kalimantan Choirul Anam, concurred saying the situation had a lot to do with the nation's failure to defuse economic and political crises.
"Indonesia should learn much from countries that have been successful in improving their own labor conditions," he said, citing China, Malaysia and Thailand as having succeeded in attracting foreign investors and improving their labor conditions because security and order were guaranteed and their political climates remained stable.
Thousands of workers from numerous labor unions in East Kalimantan staged a massive rally in Samarinda on Monday to protest the two bills being publicized among investors and labor unions.
The demonstrators called on the government to drop the two bills and make new ones that were democratic and respected labor rights.