Visitors to Jakarta's Shangri-la Hotel last week were confronted by a reincarnation of the labor dispute that closed the hotel for three months at the beginning of 2001, providing symbolic evidence of the fragile nature of Indonesia's labor relations.
Demonstrators from the sacked workforce staged new protests outside the hotel, using high-power loudspeakers to turn the lobby area into a different place than normal.
One long-haired union leader stood by the exit road from the hotel, offering a non-negotiable thumbs-down to guests leaving the hotel now considered a "scab" workplace by the international union movement. The Shangri-la protest, in connection with union pressure that has taken the issue of the right to strike to the Indonesian Supreme Court and to the legers of international union law, came as other workers were gearing up for a last-ditch stand to defend their position under existing national legislation.
Around 1,500 workers from the metal industry rallied Thursday in front of the parliament to push their argument that changes to the legislation which they claim will limit the right to strike and reduces rights on severance and other standards.
The demonstrators had marched earlier to the Vice President's office. Similar protests also took place in Medan, Surabaya and other major cities and the rallies achieved agreement from parliament for a cooling-off period until the November session to allow more debate on the legislation.
The business sector is continuing to protest the bill as well, saying it still gives too much protection to workers and that it will act as a major deterrent for investors.
In the wake of the decision to delay passage of the legislation. a number of business associations called for the revision of 47 articles concerning strikes, dismissals, payment, a limitation to night-shift working hours and severe sanctions against employers, The Jakarta Post reported.
Management are obliged to pay striking workers under the existing draft, in just one example of employer objections.
Caltex headquarters operations were forced to shut at Duri and Rumbai in Riau province as thousands of workers employed by contractors blocked roads to Caltex offices. The dispute related to conditions on retrenchment at contractor PT Tripatra. Caltex said vital installations, including its oil fields, had not been affected.
Echoes of Indonesia's labor position sounded as far away as Yarmouth in Oregon, US, a production base for a Nike shoe subsidiary, where the company held its annual meeting.
Labor activist James Keady tried to question Nike chairman and CEO Philip H. Knight on the company's decision to end its contract with an Indonesian shoe factory, resulting in the loss of 7,000 jobs.
Knight tried to cut Keady off, declaring him out of order three times. When Keady would not stop, Knight abruptly ended the meeting as security officials and a police officer escorted Keady from the meeting.
Back home, Paskah Suzeta, deputy chairman of the parliament's Commission IX, warned that implementation of the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) would cause a new surge in unemployment because many Indonesian companies would not be able to compete, Antara reported.
Surveys had shown that around 27% of 80 business associations queried said they were not yet ready to face AFTA, and small and medium enterprises would be hurt most.
The government meanwhile said it would push for better conditions for Indonesians allowed to return to work in Malaysia, Reuters reported.
"We are proposing better salaries for Indonesian workers in Malaysia, if possible at least 12 ringgit ($3.16) per day. Also we want our workers to have insurance protection on their health," Manpower Minister Jacob Nuwa Wea told reporters.