Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – The manpower and transmigration minister has appealed to workers not to stage massive strikes throughout the country to protest a draft labor law, which unions say will drastically reduce employee pay and conditions.

Erman Suparno said Wednesday the draft bill currently before the House of Representatives had yet to be finalized.

Promising to look after workers' interests in the bill, he said industrial action, although legal, would be counterproductive because it would cause losses to employers and deprive workers of income. Massive labor disruptions could also affect investment in the country, he said.

Several labor unions have threatened to stage a nationwide strike as a last resort to stop the government from revising the 2003 labor law. They said the draft bill favored employers at the expense of workers as part of a government plan to boost foreign investment in the country.

The bill allows investors to hire contract-based workers and outsource permanent jobs and core businesses to other companies, phase out service pay for dismissed workers and cut other payouts by almost 50 percent. It also allows investors to hire expatriates to occupy key positions, including director and commissioner roles.

Workers have rallied in major cities and towns across Java during the past two weeks to oppose the revised bill.

"The bill is not final. All articles deemed contentious are subject to changes. The government is open to any suggestions from all stakeholders before (the bill) is submitted to the House of Representatives for deliberation," Erman said.

He promised the government would take the workers' side when revising the bill but stressed it should also help increase investment and create more jobs in the country.

It would be unwise and undemocratic if workers tried to force the government to revise the legislation while tripartite negotiations on the bill were still underway, he said.

"Workers and labor unions are allowed to channel their aspirations and their ideas about the planned revision through the government and the House. And they should table their ideas for discussion with other stakeholders," Erman said.

The government had already received several alternative draft bills from labor unions and employers, he said. The minister declined to comment on the substance of these drafts.

Former manpower minister-turned-labor activist Bomer Pasaribu called on the government to drop the revised bill, saying bad governance, not labor laws, were the main impediments to increased investment in the country.

"The government should focus on creating good governance, ending corruption in the bureaucracy, revising the tax system, eliminating the high-cost economy, enforcing the law and ensuring security for investment," Bomer said.

While acknowledging continuing high unemployment was a serious problem in the country, Bomer said it had little to do with decreasing investment flows.

The government could not legally prevent workers from going on a general strike to fight for their interests, which were legitimate, he said.