Mustaqim Adamrah, Jakarta – Observing International Labor Day, or May Day, two prominent labor observers urged Indonesia's mushrooming labor unions to merge into several major sector-based confederations to improve workers' bargaining power amid the global economic downturn.
Speaking before thousands of workers and unionists at a gathering organized by state insurance company PT Jamsostek, Payaman J. Simanjuntak, a professor of labor economy at Krisnadwipayana University, said most labor unions face a crisis of confidence as many are politically oriented, sectarian and undemocratic.
"So far, 90 federations, 20 local unions and more than 2,000 company level unions have been registered with the Manpower Ministry, but they represent only 3.4 million workers in the formal sector, while more than 30 million others and 80 million in the informal sector are not represented, mainly because they get no benefits from joining a union," he said.
Payaman, who is a former director general for industrial relations and labor supervision at the Manpower Ministry, pointed out that 50 percent of the federations were born from their mother confederations (a sign they are undemocratic), 25 percent was sectarian (a violation of the law) and the remaining 25 percent were new unions that exist in name only.
"The labor movement has been set back to pre-1973 labor declaration conditions with 90 labor federations fighting for their ideologies, which are pro-labor, sectarian or political in their nature. To be strong, a merger is a must and we need up to five major sectorial confederations to avoid overhead costs and make them effective in negotiations with employers," he said.
Former manpower minister Bomer Pasaribu concurred, saying labor unions and employers should form strong partnerships to improve productivity and workers' skills, two ongoing issues which have never been properly dealt with.
"Such a strong partnership, high competence and pro-labor policy, including laws and regulations, will enable workers to survive the global economic downturn."
Meanwhile, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who observed May Day by visiting the manufacturing plant of PT Panasonic Electronics in Bogor, asked workers and employers to avoid confrontation in settling industrial disputes.
"Imagine (how it would be if people were confrontational when addressing labor issues). A company would go bankrupt, its management, the owners would suffer losses and employees would be fired. "Prevent that and listen to each other. Employees' welfare, a companies growth and productivity are important," he said.
Tens of thousands of workers hit the streets to celebrate May Day at strategic locations including the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle and Monas monument in Jakarta, demanding the government and employers stop outsourcing jobs.
The workers also challenged presidential candidates to hold a dialog on May 21 to present their programs to improve labor conditions over the next five years. (hdt)