Workers still poorly educated

Workers still poorly educated

JAKARTA (JP): The difference in educational backgrounds between workers and their employers is the main reason for most company conflicts, a union official said over the weekend.

Fauzi Ibrahim, the Jakarta region head of the government- sanctioned All-Indonesia Workers Union, said on Saturday that most workers have such low educational backgrounds that they are unable to communicate their demands properly.

"They have serious difficulties conveying their interests to employers," Fauzi told The Jakarta Post.

Speaking after an internal union meeting, Fauzi said that inadequate schooling also makes it easy to incite workers to strike.

"In many cases, workers don't even know what they're demanding."

However, Fauzi added, striking can be helpful in getting employers to fulfill standard demands like minimum daily wages.

"The union supports worker strikes if no agreements can be reached during the stages of consultation held by the workers and company managements," he said.

The first stage of consultation is between the employees and their union representatives in the company. If the union is ineffective in its talks with company management, the government may be brought in for further negotiations.

A court settlement is the last alternative, after which laborers often on strike if all other talks fail," Fauzi said.

"How can the worker unions convey what the workers want if their members have too little schooling to determine what they need from the management," he added.

"For this reason the union's Jakarta office is looking for a way to provide the union's personnel with education and training," he said.

"The training program will include lessons on wages, productivity, bargaining techniques, and alertness to outside influences," he said, adding that the workers most likely to protest come from companies without union representatives, who can assist them in their demands.

According to government regulations, a company with more than 25 workers must establish a union branch.

More than 8,000 companies in Jakarta employ more than 25 workers. However, only 781 have union representatives.

"And only 587 of the 781 have signed collective labor agreements," Fauzi said.

Low awareness of the purpose of a company's worker union frequently leads to conflicts which could be avoided with better education, he said. (03)