Respect labor rights, SBY tells Chinese-Indonesians

Speaking before a gathering of Chinese-Indonesians who celebrated the Chinese New Year on Friday, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono called on owners of big businesses to respect labor rights by providing decent salaries.

“For you who are involved in business, once again, I invite you to show respect to workers. Adjust their wages commensurate with your companies’ financial capabilities, which have been helped by the country’s constant economic growth,” Yudhoyono said before more than 6,000 Chinese-Indonesians at the plenary hall of the Jakarta Convention Center.

Indonesia, Southeast Asia’s largest economy, has seen economic growth average at more than 6 percent annually over the past five years, an achievement that should have led to the improvement of workers’ welfare, Yudhoyono said.

First Lady Kristiani Herawati, Vice President Boediono and his wife Herawati, as well as a number of Cabinet members, such as Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali, Law and Human Rights Minister Amir Syamsuddin and National Police chief Gen. Timur Pradopo, also attended the celebration organized by the Indonesia Confucianism High Assembly (Matakin).

Yudhoyono has never missed the annual event since 2005 and it has been routine for him to insert current remarks every year.

This year, he chose the labor issue, as it has dogged the country following strikes affecting some regions in the country.

Last week, tens of thousands of workers blockaded the Jakarta–Cikampek toll road in Bekasi, West Java, for about eight hours, paralyzing economic activities in the area. The protest erupted after the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo) won a lawsuit asking the West Java provincial government to annul its decision on a 16 percent increase of minimum labor wages for 2012 to Rp 1,491,866 (US$167.09).

A tripartite mediation group moderated by the Manpower and Transmigration Ministry on Wednesday managed to drive the Apindo to withdraw its lawsuit, challenging a revision to the minimum wage increase in Tangerang, Banten.

Tangerang labor unions previously threatened to deploy more than 20,000 workers to blockade the Jakarta-Tangerang toll road if the Apindo refused to withdraw the lawsuit.

With his Chinese New Year’s speech, Yudhoyono appeared to show his populist side and be oblivious to the fact that the business association had resorted to legal means to settle the dispute by going through the courts.

Earlier on Wednesday, Yudhoyono issued similar statement.

He said that employers must increase labor wages to correspond with the country’s stable economic growth.

“Would it be fair if companies’ profits continue to grow but workers’ prosperity levels remain low? This is why workers continue to go on strike, asking for justice,” he said later in his remarks.

Chinese-Indonesians have dominated the country’s economy since colonial times. The New Order regime of former president Soeharto gave privileges to Chinese-Indonesians in business, an opportunity that allowed them to transform into major business conglomerates.

In the 2011 list of Indonesia’s 40 richest men issued in Forbes magazine, the majority were Indonesians of Chinese descent.

Wawan Wiratna, the chairman of the Matakin, said in his remarks that the government should put an end to corrupt practices so that businessmen could contribute more. “As part of this nation, we have to continue making real contributions for Indonesia,” he said.

The Chinese New Year fell on Jan. 23, which marked the beginning of the year 2563 according to the Chinese calendar. The year is also dubbed the year of the Water Dragon, which some believe could mean the revival of the Indonesian economy.

“I pray that the Water Dragon year will bring you happiness, prosperity, and fortune,” Yudhoyono said.