Budi Sutrisno, Jakarta – The National Federation of Trade Unions (KSPN) has responded to an accusation that the tripartite team formed by the government has had little impact on the formulation of the omnibus bill on job creation, calling the claim untrue and degrading.
The response was directed at Confederation of Indonesian Trade Unions (KSPI) president Said Iqbal, who previously said that a team formed by the House of Representatives to discuss the bill was 'stronger' and had contributed more than the tripartite team.
Said claimed on Tuesday that the tripartite team acted merely as a "rubber stamp" body and a "tool of legitimacy" for the government, and that it had not provided any solutions or aspirations regarding the stipulations in the bill that concern labor law.
KSPN chairman Ristadi said the tripartite team had worked for two weeks to discuss the labor cluster article by article and had published its results transparently.
"[The discussion] was so intense that one chapter could take half a day. That proves that the tripartite team is not just a rubber stamp body saying 'Yes, boss!', let alone that it is just for show," Ristadi said in a statement on Thursday.
The tripartite team includes the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) and the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo) as well as trade unions. Ristadi said the team represented 75 percent of the total labor force from all trade unions.
Ristadi argued that the omnibus bill was formulated by both the government and the House, so that the team formed by one of them was just as important as the one formed by the other.
He said the aspirations of the two teams might not be very different but he hoped the House would take into account the tripartite team's working results as an important consideration in the bill's deliberation.