[Kabar-indonesia] 2 of 2: Indonesia: Annual Survey of Violations of Trade Union Rights (2006)

[Joyo at aol.com]

-2 of 2-

Indonesia: Annual Survey of Violations of Trade Union
Rights (2006)... continues...

New dawn for sugar workers dimmed by union busting,
threats against the IUF

Since its founding on 22-23 February, the Federation
of Independent Tobacco, Cane and Sugar Workers (FSPM
TG) has been the subject of a severe and worsening
campaign, apparently aimed at destroying the
federation. The campaign is being led by a colluding
group of employers (private and state enterprises),
local and national Ministry of Manpower authorities,
and Suharto-era labour leaders. The treatment of FSPM
TG caused the Director-General of the ILO to raise his
concern about these "very serious violations of
freedom of association" directly with the government.
The IUF filed a complaint against the government of
Indonesia at the ILO's Committee of Freedom of
Association, which was considering the matter as the
year ended.

FSPM TG President, David Sukamto, was suddenly sacked
in the third week of March, with his employer, Gunung
Madu Plantation, alleging "gross misconduct". The
union appealed the dismissal. When the case was
considered by the local Dispute Settlement Committee
(P4D), its decision upholding the employers' action
confirmed that Sukamto had been dismissed for actions
in connection with his union role. The P4D found
"gross misconduct" in his action to recommend union
members not to accept a management wage proposal in
January 2005, and for his involvement with the IUF.
The P4D essentially served as a rubber stamp for
management's request to fire him, ignoring that these
representation functions of a union leader are
protected in Article 28 of Law 21/2000, the Trade
Union Act.

The 24 unions that joined the FSPM TG face concerted
campaigns of harassment from management and their
former labour federation, KSPSI, to resign from the
FSPM TG. Following the dismissal of the federation's
President, at the PTPN X plantation and sugar mill
complex located in various parts of eastern and
central Java, all FSPM TG unions were forced to
disaffiliate. The harassment has encompassed abuse of
the government's power to control registration of
trade union bodies. The local office of the Ministry
of Manpower in Kediri, East Java, challenged the
government registration of FSPM TG, which had been
issued only months before, in accordance with
regulations. The Manpower office sought a retroactive
and illegal "deferral" of the registration, which
effectively deprived the FSPM TG of its right to
represent workers in collective bargaining. This
deferral has been used by the company as a rationale
to not allow the federation's General Secretary to
visit workers, and perform his rightful union
functions.

On 5 October, the Minister of Manpower ruled that FSPM
TG would have to re-register, effectively revoking the
FSPM TG's previous registration which had complied
with all applicable laws and procedures. Under strong
protest, for tactical reasons and as a show of good
faith, the federation reluctantly agreed to follow the
Minister's order. A new registration number for the
federation was issued, but there was no indication
from the Kediri Manpower office that this new
registration number would not be questioned, or even
revoked as happened with the previous registration.
PTPN X management continued to harass FSPM TG members
with impunity, and prevented local union leaders from
carrying out their duties.

FSPM leaders and Hemasari Dharmabumi, an IUF staff
member, were threatened with violence if they
continued their activities on behalf of the
federation. A group of Suharto-era unions, the
self-titled All Indonesia Sugar Mills Unions
Solidarity Forum, issued a letter on 27 September, in
which it accused the FSPM TG of "hijacking" members of
other unions, unfairly attacking the government, and
encouraging foreign groups (the IUF) to interfere in
Indonesia. One of the signatories, SP-BUN PTPN IX
General Chairperson Djoko Moeridno, issued another
letter on 30 September which accused the FSPM TG
Secretary General Legimin, aswell asw Hemasari, of
violating unspecified laws. It added that he and his
union would "sacrifice body and soul to oppose the
intervention of foreign parties who wish to destroy"
the workers of Indonesia, and specifically threatened
"physical action" against Hemasari and Legimin if they
did not cease their work for FSPM TG. In a meeting
with the IUF General Secretary in Geneva on 14
November, senior Ministry of Manpower officials stated
that they did not consider signed threats on official
letterhead worthy of further investigation. Complaints
by Secretary General Legimin in mid-October, that he
was under constant surveillance by two unknown men in
Surabaya, received no government response. As the year
ended, the government had failed to reply to calls by
the ILO and international trade union bodies to
protect the FSPM and IUF leaders from these threats,
and to launch a criminal investigation to find those
responsible.

Gran Mahakam Hotel - refusing to bargain, supporting a
yellow union

The owner of this five-star hotel in Jakarta, and the
direct hire human resources manager reporting to him,
have continually refused to bargain in good faith with
the Independent Workers' Union, Gran Mahakam, which
was organised in October 2003. Anti-union tactics
included trying to bribe union leaders, and when that
failed, direct management involvement in organising a
competing, yellow union - the Organisation for the
Aspirations of Gran Mahakam Employees -composed of a
small number of management personnel. Management
successfully pushed for registration of this
"organisation" with the Jakarta Department of
Manpower, and then contended it had no obligation to
recognise or negotiate with the legitimate union. The
IUF put pressure on the French-based hotel chain
Accor, which manages the hotel and with which it has a
Global Framework Agreement on the respect of trade
union rights. Although the general manager resigned
from his position and the human resources manager was
sacked, Accor was unable to convince the owner to stop
the anti-union activities. In August, the Department
of Manpower ordered that negotiations be conducted
with the employer, the union, and the
management-controlled "organisation". At year's end,
those negotiations were continuing.

Securicor/G-4 firings and police harassment

On 25 April, over 600 Securicor/Group 4 Falk workers
in Jakarta and Surabaya went on strike over terms and
conditions of employment in the newly merged security
company. The next day, the company barred the union's
President from entering the company's premises and
refused all requests for negotiations. One month
later, on 25 May, the company unilaterally dismissed
203 union members who were participating in this legal
strike, falsely claiming they had resigned. The union
filed an appeal to the local authorities, asserting
the workers had been illegally fired for participating
in a legal strike. On 8 June, the local Ministry of
Manpower office upheld the union's appeal, finding
that the strike was indeed legal. The government
mediator recommended that all 203 workers be re-hired.
Securicor/G-4 refused to comply with this
recommendation. The union appealed the matter to the
tripartite National Dispute Resolution Committee (P4P)
which, on 18 July, upheld the Ministry of Manpower
ruling and ordered the company to reinstate all fired
workers. The employer then appealed that decision to
the High Court for State Administrative Affairs, where
the case was still being considered as the year ended.

Using compliant police and prosecutors, the company
counter-attacked with its own campaign of harassment
by proxies. Starting on 18 July, and contravening
recently promulgated regulations against police
involvement in labour disputes, South Jakarta police
called in ten union leaders for questioning over an
alleged violation of a Dutch colonial law prohibiting
vague and unspecified "unpleasant acts" against
employers. Leaders were requested to identify fellow
strikers from photographs, and questioned about the
content of banners confiscated by police during the
union's peaceful demonstration. Over several months,
union President Fitrijansjah Toisutta, and members Tri
Muryanto and Edi Putr, were required to report for
interrogation by police and state prosecutors at least
twice a week, and were continually informed they were
suspects of a criminal investigation. Finally, union
President Toisutta was formally charged with this
trumped up charge, and at the end of the year, his
case was awaiting trial. The case strongly suggests
that arbitrary and biased police involvement in labour
disputes continues with impunity in Indonesia.

Intransigent employer locks out union at PT Takeda

Starting in January, the pharmaceutical manufacturer
PT Takeda Indonesia refused to comply with various
sections of its collective bargaining agreement with
the local union, including failure to pay previously
agreed wage increases, and the punitive transfer of an
employee for union activities. When the union
pressured the management in negotiations in May, the
factory responded by issuing "suspension" letters to
39 union members, and "final warning" letters (later
converted to "suspension" letters) to another 19
members. Replacement workers were found, in collusion
with the local Manpower office, and hired to perform
the jobs of these 58 locked-out workers. At the behest
of the employer, local police compelled the President,
vice President, secretary, and treasurer to appear for
questioning, and harassed them for union activities. A
Manpower office mediator's decision that the employer
should reinstate all 58 workers was appealed by the
employer. The Indonesian Pharmaceutical and Health
Workers' Union Federation Reformed (FSP FARKES/R
Indonesia) filed a complaint with the ILO which was
accepted by the Committee on Freedom of Association.

Garuda Airlines retaliates against the union

The refusal of the management of Garuda Airlines to
bargain in good faith on wages and working conditions
with the Association of Garuda Flight Attendants
(IKAGI) resulted in the union calling for a legal,
nation-wide strike between 12 and 14 August. A last
minute intervention on the eve of the strike by three
government Ministers persuaded IKAGI to call off the
action, despite management's continued intransigence.
However, this good faith action by the union has been
answered by a punitive, anti-union campaign by Garuda
management aimed at harassing IKAGI's leaders and
destroying the unity of the union.

Prior to the strike, Garuda's Director of Operations
signed threatening notices that were posted in Garuda
offices, and sent text messages to flight attendants'
mobile phones, warning that any employee participating
in the strike would be punished. The IKAGI
headquarters office at the Soekarno-Hatta airport, in
Cengkareng, West Jakarta, was forcibly closed by
Garuda and the union denied access. The union filed a
complaint with police about this closure, but nothing
was done. Since then, Garuda management has reneged on
an agreement to allow IKAGI to return to office space
at least the same size as it previously occupied on
the Garuda premises. It has unilaterally decided to
offer a space of less than six square metres for the
entire union office.

Starting in August, management also systematically
intimidated IKAGI union activists. All flight
attendants received a formal warning from Garuda
management, and internal investigations were started
against union activists. From September onwards, IKAGI
activists were compelled on several occasions to
attend intimidating "interview" meetings with
management where they were informed their union
activities and protests, conducted on their personal
time, was "counter-productive" and could result in
cuts in pay or termination if they continued. Ten
IKAGI leaders, including union General Secretary Haryo
Santoso, were punished with administrative sanctions
such as wage cuts. At the end of the year, IKAGI
President, Zainudin Malik, and two IKAGI activists,
Mona Lapian and Yuli Winarko, were being threatened
with dismissal.

Despite the fact that Garuda Airlines is a state
enterprise under the control of the government, there
have been no efforts by Indonesian authorities to stop
Garuda's anti-union retaliation.

Three years on, Bridgestone still continues to deny
union rights

The leaders of four branches of the union at
Bridgestone Tyre continued to contest their dismissal
for union activities. Julio Setio Raharjo, union
Chairperson of the branch union at the company's head
office in Jakarta; Sarno H., Chairperson of the
company's factory in Bekasi; Hazrial Nazar,
Chairperson at the Karawang factory; and Machmud
Permana, union Secretary at the Bekasi factory, were
all suspended without pay following a dispute in 2002
over wage negotiations. Furthermore, Bridgestone
continued to refuse recognition of these four union
leaders as representatives of the union's negotiating
team, saying it would only negotiate with union
officers "still having the status as worker in the
company", thereby violating the union's freedom to
choose who should represent them.

At the end of the year, the company was still refusing
to recognise the union negotiating team, hence no
agreement had been negotiated. The case was also still
pending before the ILO Committee on Freedom of
Association, which had addressed a number of requests
to the government. These included the extent of
anti-union discrimination provisions in the Industrial
Relations Disputes Settlement Act of 2004, the means
of redress used in the case of the four union
officials, the limitations on their union activities
while they still enjoyed a formal employment
relationship with the enterprise, and the need for the
procedure they had launched for anti-union
discrimination to take precedence over their dismissal
procedures.

State-owned bus company still refuses to recognise
union

Perum Damri, a large state-owned bus company refused
to recognise three legally registered unions organized
by the Transportation and Delivery Workers' Federation
Indonesia Prosperity Trade Union (FTA SBSI). The
company claimed that only two unions organised by
management were representative, and denied appeals by
FTA SBSI to involve them in ongoing contract
negotiations. The Secretary of the FTA SBSI Perum
Damri Semarang received a punitive transfer to
Jogjakarta as a result of his union activities, and
management threatened other union activists with
similar transfers in order to reduce support for the
union.

Failing the test, PT Busana Prima Global continues
anti-union efforts

This factory, located in Bogor (Java), produces
sportswear for Dutch, Italian and other brands,
including Head, Lotto, Le Coq Sportif, Ecko and Bear
USA. An independent monitor, hired by representatives
of international brands and Oxfam Australia, and
allowed access to the factory by PT Busana management,
issued a report on 31 March that found clear evidence
of management intimidation and harassment of the
union. This included the union being forced to turn
over membership lists, a refusal to recognise and
bargain with the union, the demotion and transfer of
union leaders, and the hiring of local thugs to
threaten union activists. Following a strike in July
2003, the factory terminated four union leaders, and
around 170 other rank and file members, 30 of whom
were still seeking to return to the factory.

At year's end, no progress had been made to reinstate
these workers, despite management's pledge to overseas
campaigners and garment buyers that the workers would
be allowed to return. On the contrary, supervisors in
the factory (with encouragement from management) were
persuaded to draw up a petition, opposing the return
of these unionised workers. The factory also
facetiously claimed it could not locate the 34 fired
workers.

PT Panarub refuses to reinstate union leaders

Despite an ongoing investigation by the Workers'
Rights Consortium, and pressure from the ITGLWF and
other international labour groups, the management of
PT Panarub, a sport shoe manufacturer located in
Tangerang and producing for Adidas, continued to
refuse to reinstate 33 top leaders and activist
members of the Perbupas union who were fired for
undertaking strikes at the factory in September and
October. The firings effectively decapitated the
union, leaving it without a leader in the factory.
This latest action is the most severe instance of
anti-union discrimination directed at the Perbupas
union over the past three years. At year's end, the
case was being considered by the Central Labour Court
in Tangerang.

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Joyo Indonesia News Service
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