Jakarta – The Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo) has decided to postpone a national bipartite meeting with the country's labor unions supposedly due in June to an unspecified future date.
Apindo secretary-general Djimanto said Thursday said that the association made the decision Wednesday because up to now representatives of labor unions did not have a united front.
He said that Apindo had not decided when it would hold the meeting. However, he added that Apindo would be ready whenever the labor unions had come to an agreement. "The effort should come from the labor unions themselves," Djimanto said.
In Indonesia there are thousands of labor unions under about 89 federations. These groups, before meeting with representatives from the business sector, have to decide on what the workers want and who will represent them in the meeting.
Head of the National Labor Defenders Front, Domingus Oktavianus, said that due to the large number of federations in Indonesia it was a difficult task to have a common voice in a short period of time. "We will need at least three more months," he said.
The national bipartite meeting plan was initiated in May this year after representatives of the business sector and labor unions agreed to seek the best ways to improve the business climate.
The two were at loggerheads after May labor rallies rejecting the planned revisions of the 2003 Labor Law turned violent and paralyzed businesses. The workers were frustrated over the planned revision of the 2003 Labor Law, which could give a stronger legal base for employers to only hire contract workers, and limit severance and service payments to dismissed workers with monthly salaries of Rp 1.1 million (US$100) or less.
Apindo has said that it is easing up pressure to revise the 2003 Labor Law, saying that there are other more urgent ways to improve the business climate.
Association chairman Sofyan Wanandi had previously said that the association's priority at the moment was improving laws that govern taxation, customs and investment.
He pointed out that the revision of the Labor Law was indeed important to improve the investment climate. However, it was not the sole factor.