Workers' conditions remain poor in Indonesia: Activists
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.