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View all search resultsSeminar, rallies call for labors' welfare improvement
A string of activities marked May Day in Bali's capital Saturday, with university students, activists, laborers, tourist operators and journalists calling for the improvement of labor welfare
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string of activities marked May Day in Bali's capital Saturday, with university students, activists, laborers, tourist operators and journalists calling for the improvement of labor welfare.
The Union of Tourism Workers in Bandung held a discussion on how tourist operators should capitalize on free trade agreements, including the Asean China Free Trade Area (ACFTA) and General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS).
The ACFTA and GATS have given people more chance to work in all fields, and particularly in Bali have provided greater access to foreign workers for employment in the tourism sector, the discussion heard.
Union head Putu Satyawira said the ACFTA and GATS might threaten local workers because there would be more overseas workers arriving in Bali.
"Employers and the government should protect local workers amid the high influx of foreign workers, to prevent Bali becoming a second Batam," Satyawira said, referring to the Sumatran province where many foreign workers are employed.
He added that foreign workers had not dominated the tourism sector in Bali or reached the subordinate level.
"It is important to anticipate the impact of the ACFTA and GATS. Free trade will open access for overseas workers to occupy all positions, not only at the managerial level."
The Denpasar chapter of the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) held a discussion about journalists' rights in Denpasar, highlighting that many suffer rights' abuse because they are employed on a contract system.
"Many journalists are reluctant to fight for their workers' rights," AJI Denpasar chairman Rofiqi Hasan said, adding that journalists were also unaware of their position as laborers as they considered themselves professionals.
Low salary and insufficient working facilities have been claimed to often put journalists in difficult situations that prompt them to violate the journalistic code of ethics.
"Inadequate working conditions lead journalists to violate the code of ethics such as asking sources for compensation." Rofiqi said.
University students, grouped under the Coalition of Laborers, held a rally in front of Bajra Sandhi monument in Denpasar, demanding wage increase. They also said they opposed the ACFTA.
