Workers in land, sea transport underpaid

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)