On July 10, a new labour rights bill was unanimously passed by the Indonesian House of Representatives. It still requires President Abdurrahman Wahid's approval to become law. The Indonesian National Front for Labour Struggle (FNPBI) and seven other unions, grouped under the banner of Indonesian Solidarity Forum, have rejected the bill because it is inadequate and will legalise state interference.

FNPBI Chairperson DITA SARI issued the following statement:

Our position and demands have been consistent. Labour laws have to protect the rights of trade unions, not control or have authority over them. The FNPBI rejects the articles in the new bill which give the government the right to intervene in the unions' internal matters thereby allowing the state to control an organisation of the working class.

The council which drafted the bill has been forced to acknowledge the growing push from a number of Indonesian trade unions and the international community that Indonesian workers be able to form unions. It is important for the council members' creditably that they are not associated with the past restrictions on unions.

On the other hand, this law is not entirely free from authoritarianism, in particular the articles which give government institutions the right to intervene in internal trade union matters. Article 43 states: "Violations against articles 20 and 31 can incur an administrative sanction of withdrawing the registration of a trade union."

Article 20 makes it mandatory for unions to report any changes to a union's statutes or rules of association, its leadership and the names of its founding members to the local ministry of labour. Article 31 requires trade unions to advise the local ministry of labour, in writing, of any international assistance received.

The obligation to inform the government of internal changes is no different from the old regulations which tried to control trade unions by obliging them to submit such reports. If a trade union does not fulfill this obligation, the local ministry of labour has the right to deregister the union.

A deregistered trade union no longer has the right to carry out the following activities:

1. To make work agreements with management;
2. To represent workers in the resolution of industrial disputes; and
3. To represent workers before industrial institutions.

This stands in clear contravention of International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention No. 98 which covers the basic rights of collective bargaining. A trade union which does not have the right to carry out these activities cannot represent its members in industrial disputes. It would be a "trade union" in name only.

The obligation to report any external funding provides another opportunity for the authorities to investigate the trade union. This kind of financial control should only be able to be carried out by union members through agreed mechanisms, not by the government. Such intervention by the authorities not only conflicts with international conventions on the freedom to organise, but also contravenes the Indonesian constitution which states that a trade union should be independent.

This is a clear contradiction which indicates the half-hearted character of the "reformists" who are also half-hearted in applying the principles of democracy.

This law's procedures for the establishment of a trade union have been simplified.

Previously, trade unions were required to register with the government; now they simply notify it. However, because of the ministry of labour's power to intervene in and de-register unions, this simplification has no real meaning. The freedom to organise remains uncertain, vague and illusive.

We anticipate harm for the trade union movement if the regulation is passed into law.

However, it is true that not all of the articles in the new regulations are anti-union and undemocratic. It must be acknowledged that there are a number of progressive elements in the regulations. The decision to form a trade union is now left up to workers themselves.

Whether the trade union is based on one particular sector or trade is also a workers' decision.

The articles which regulate sanctions against those preventing workers from becoming union members or part of a union leadership are also positive. Article 43 provides for a minimum one year's jail or a fine. However, it is not clear that this provision will be consistently applied given the corruption still prevalent in the Indonesian legal system. But at least this particular article provides written protection for workers to organise.

[Translated by James Balowski]