Workers in land, sea transport underpaid

JAKARTA (JP): The Federation of All Indonesian Workers Union (FSPSI) called on the government to regulate industrial relations in the transportation sector, saying that most of the 18 million employed in the land and sea transportation sectors were underpaid.

Ch. David, chairman of the transportation sector union (SPTI) at FSPSI, said the government should give more attention to the poor labor conditions in the land transportation sector.

"The increasing number of traffic accidents, such as bus and train crashes and ship mishaps in many regions over the last year, have in part to do with the poor labor conditions in the sector which the government has yet to give serious attention to," he told The Jakarta Post here on Friday.

He cited that most bus conductors and passenger ship crews are underpaid because they have no skills, but on the other hand they have been criticized by the public when they stage strikes to fight for the betterment of their social welfare.

David complained that most transportation businesses have yet to comply with the transportation law regulating that 25 percent of government-set transportation tariffs be earmarked for labor costs.

"This situation has a lot to do with the absence of proper industrial relations in the transportation sector," he said, citing that a majority of bus conductors and ship crew members are paid below the monthly minimum wages," he said, adding that in most cases there was also no labor contract or collective labor agreement between workers and transportation business operators.

He admitted that the situation was also caused by the lack of awareness among workers to unionize, saying that of the 18 million employed in the sector only four million were active in labor unions and most of them were employed in airline and state- owned transportation companies.

"But a majority of bus and truck drivers and conductors have been paid on the basis of a bipartite agreement between them and their employers, or bus and truck owners," he said.

David nevertheless stressed that it was not fair to impose the monthly minimum wages set by the government for workers in the industrial sector because most workers in the land transportation work a 12-hour working day.

He cited an example of crew members of intercity buses serving the route between Jakarta and other cities in Sumatra and Java who were paid only around Rp 15,000 (US$1.6) daily.

David also said that most workers in the land and sea transportation subsectors did not take part in the government-run social security programs because of the absence of established industrial relations in the subsectors.

"PT Jamsostek running the social security programs have declined to accept the participation of bus and truck crew members in the programs because of the absence of their wage components and industrial relations," he said.(rms)