Workers Union appeals for no strikes during APEC
JAKARTA (JP): The All Indonesian Workers Union (SPSI) has appealed to its members to refrain from staging industrial strikes during the meetings of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) later this month.
SPSI Secretary General Bomer Pasaribu said the instruction was issued to prevent these strikes from being politicized by certain parties who are hoping to take advantage of the gathering of APEC leaders in the country.
"There is still the possibility of strikes or workers' protests being organized, and we issued the instruction in anticipation of such occurrences," Bomer said to the Antara news agency yesterday.
He added, however, that until now he hasn't seen any indication that certain parties were trying to organize workers' strikes during the APEC meetings.
The APEC conferences kick off this week with the preparatory meeting of the senior officials from the 18 member countries. On Nov. 10 and 11, the APEC ministers will hold their annual gathering in Jakarta. The peak will be on Nov. 15, when leaders of the 18 APEC nations gather in Bogor for an informal meeting.
There are concerns that the gathering of 18 world leaders, including U.S. President Bill Clinton, and the presence of over 2,000 foreign journalists in the country, might be used by certain groups in Indonesia to further their political agenda.
Indonesia's labor records have been scrutinized by the U.S. congress and Washington is now under congressional pressure to link its aid to Indonesia with the conditions of Indonesian workers.
Labor condition
Bomer acknowledged that the international media covering the APEC conferences will most likely pay attention to the labor condition in Indonesia.
"We're prepared to explain to them the development of workers and unions in Indonesia," he said.
He pointed out however that labor disputes in Indonesia have been fueled chiefly by the behavior of employers. "Nearly 90 percent of the disputes were started by employers. They're the culprits, not the workers."
He cited as examples violations regarding the minimum wage regulations and failures by employers to observe the basic rights of workers. The workers in Indonesia also have a weak bargaining position vis a vis the employers, he added.
The low rate of unionization of Indonesian workers is another factor, he said, pointing out that only 11,500 companies out of some 150,000 in Indonesia have established union shops. Out of these, only 8,500 companies are providing their workers with social security programs.
SPSI is a parent organization of the 13 trade unions in Indonesia. (emb)