Arientha Primanita, Jakarta – Private companies are responsible for almost two-fifths of rights violations in the Greater Jakarta area over the past 10 months, activists said on Thursday.

Nurkholis Hidayat, director of the Jakarta Legal Aid Foundation (LBH), said that between December 2009 and October 2010, the group had received 1,027 reports of rights violations, 428 of which were human rights violations.

"Companies account for 38 percent of the violations, followed by the Jakarta administration at 23 percent, law enforcement officials at 21 percent and private individuals at 16 percent," he said on Thursday.

Nurkholis added that most of the complaints leveled at companies were related to labor rights, with most of the plaintiffs representing workers' unions.

"The violations include unlawful dismissal, nonpayment of holiday bonuses or pensions and denial of the right to form a workers' union within the company," he said.

He said the LBH had called on all companies to exercise better corporate accountability toward their workers and the public.

"Don't just use your corporate social responsibility programs as a means to burnish your corporate images," he said. "Use it to really conduct transparent management and respect your employees' rights."

Deded Sukandar, head of the Jakarta Manpower and Transmigration Agency, said the administration had done its utmost to address workers' complaints against their employers.

"We process the complaints and also monitor the companies to ensure they fulfill their obligations to their workers," he said. He said any company found guilty of labor violations faced sanctions.

Edy Halomoan Gurning, an advocate with the LBH, said most of the violations attributed to the administration were related to social welfare.

"They've violated the people's right to health care and education, as well as to mobility, by failing to address the issues of traffic jams and flooding," he said.

Law enforcement officials, in particular the police, were mostly guilty of human rights violations, including false arrests and dragging out the legal process for suspects, Edy said.

He added the figures revealed on Thursday were a preview of the LBH's annual report, set to be released on Dec. 22.

Cucu Ahmad Kurnia, a spokesman for the city administration, called on the LBH to be clear about how it defined a human rights violation. "The city administration continues to try to make the capital comfortable for everyone," he said.