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Omnibus bill's tripartite forum upsets unions
As the government is insisting on keeping the provisions in the proposed omnibus bill on job creation on labor rights, another union has decided to leave a tripartite forum set up to support the deliberation process
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s the government is insisting on keeping the provisions in the proposed omnibus bill on job creation on labor rights, another union has decided to leave a tripartite forum set up to support the deliberation process.
Joining the other six unions that have abandoned discussions with representatives from the government and business, the National Workers Union (SPN) has decided to withdraw from the forum. The forum was initiated by the Office of the Coordinating Economic Minister to facilitate dialogue between the parties before passing the bill. The proposed bill contains articles about manpower and employment rights in Indonesia that are slated to be revised.
Among other revisions, the proposed omnibus bill would revise the 2003 Manpower Law and regulate industrial relations, working hours, wages, job termination and regulations regarding the hiring of foreign workers.
The ministry has invited 14 labor unions to the forum to discuss the proposed revisions with the government and the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo). With the departure of the SPN, there are now only seven unions participating in the dialogue.
SPN chairman Djoko Heriyono said that the group was disappointed since the tripartite forum acted mostly as a hearing session for the government and there was no guarantee that the feedback would be incorporated in the deliberation process.
“We were not given any position to revise the law. [The forum] is only a hearing mechanism while the deliberation process is still in the hands of the government and the House of Representatives. At first we were optimistic that we could participate in revising the bill,” he told The Jakarta Post on Monday.
The union, which represents garment and textile workers in nine cities and regencies, is now demanding that the government withdraw the bill before the deliberation process.
Indonesian Muslim Labor Union (Sarbumusi), a labor union under Nahdlatul Ulama, the country's largest Muslim organization, said it still supported the forum and wanted to fight for labor rights.
“We still choose to fight from within, safeguarding the draft so that such harmful provisions won’t pass into law,” Sarbumusi deputy chairman Sukitman Sudjatmiko told the Post on Friday after a session of the tripartite dialogue.
SPN member Pudji Santoso still attended Friday’s meeting, but he already expressed his disappointment in the process, stating that the bill “undermines” labor rights.
Sukitman said the different political choices did not mean the unions were divided. He said that joining the discussion was as important as holding a street protest.
However, he admitted that there was an air of distrust among the unions. “The current situation is not promising for us but I want to stay a little longer,” he said
Representatives from eight labor unions, including the SPN, were divided into five groups that discussed industrial relations, working hours, wages and remuneration, layoffs and severance payments and foreign workers. Discussions are held in each group before conclusions are brought to a plenary meeting.
Pudji and Sukitman were listed in a group to discuss layoffs and severance payments. Friday’s session was the second meeting of the group. The discussion did not come to a conclusion as both the labor and business groups clashed.
Among the disputed issues was a plan to remove an article that regulates employer’s duties to prevent layoffs from the Manpower Law.
The omnibus bill also no longer mandates that employers pay compensation for rights (UPH) to laid off workers and instead stipulates that these rights can be regulated in a work contract or agreement.
“This is problematic because a work agreement could be interpreted differently by the management and the union,” Pudji said.
The bill also strips out all provisions related to severance payments beyond the basic allowance.
“They offered a social security program for laid off workers [JKP] but it’s just sugarcoating, it won’t compensate for the prevailing severance payment,” Sukitman said.
Responding to the unions' demand, Darwoto, a representative for the Apindo said business owners would always do their best to prevent layoff, so the article that regulates the layoff prevention is not needed.
"Of course an employer will avoid layoff, but sometimes it is inevitable. For instance, [the company] no longer receives orders [for production]," he said.
Other than the layoff and severance pay issues, unions have also challenged other articles in the bill, including proposed provisions to relax requirements for outsourcing, hiring appropriately qualified foreign workers, as well as new formulas to calculate regional minimum wages.
Pudji questioned the Office of the Coordinating Economic Minister's absence from the meeting. “The Manpower Ministry is the only government representative,” he said, citing the fact that the bill task force was mostly businesspeople and only one person came from the Manpower Ministry.
Previously, the Confederation of Indonesian Worker Unions (KSPI), the Congress of Indonesia Unions Alliance (KASBI) and the All-Indonesia Workers Union Confederation (KSPSI) led by Andi Gani Nena Wea refused to join the group discussions.
Three more unions also retracted their involvement. The unions that quit the process are the Indonesian Chemical, Energy and Mining Worker Unions (FSP KEP SPSI), the Indonesian Metal, Electronics and Machinery Worker Unions (FSP LEM SPSI) and the Confederation of Indonesian Prosperity Trade Unions (KSBSI). (aly)
