Labour Strike Planning, Did It Effectively?
An Information is taken by writer from a various sources has said labour strike will be held on October 31th 2016 and November 1st, 2016. According to press release about labour strike plan has claimed that actions will be followed by approxiamately 3 million labour in 20 provinces and 150 regencies/cities. Before its begun, they will do pre-conditions labour strike on October 28th, 2016 to October 30th, 2016 in every provinces. Its will be done peace, orderly and not anarchist.
Further, press release has explained about labour strike will be happened in Banten, West Java, Jakarta, Central Java, East Java, Aceh, North Sumatera, Riau Islands, South Sumatera, Lampung, South Kalimantan, East Kalimantan, Gorontalo, North Sulawesi Utara, South Sulawesi, Southeast Sulawesi, Central Sulawesi, Papua and NTB.
For regencies/cities, its will be happened in di Cilegon, Serang, Tangerang, Tangerang Selatan, Bogor, Depok, Sukabumi, Cianjur, Bekasi,Karawang, Purwakarta, Subang, Indramayu, Cirebon, Tegal, Cimahi, Bandung, Bandung Barat, Tasikmalaya, Semarang, Kendal, Demak, Batam, Pekalongan, Yogyakarta, Surabaya, Sidoarjo, Mojokerto, Pasuruan, Malang, Probolinggo, Gresik, Batam, Bintan, Karimun, Medan, Deli Serdang, Palembang, Pekanbaru, Makassar and Cilacap.
Labour strikes would be impacted to harbour, central industries and production and airport. Eventhough, until now, there isn’t a spesific demands will be struggled through its actions. Meanwhile, another information has circulated that labour at gas and gasoline sectors will be done their labour strikes on November 1st, 2016 to undecided time until their demand will be fullfiled.
There are several their demand such as they want company will accept them as full labour; Companies to pay overtime for the excess hours of work since October 2011 s.d September 2016; Pay overtime when assigned as a task force religious holiday for Muslims, namely supplies of fuel; Pay for Gas money that is not provided by the company since 2011 to workers; Applying the working hours of 7 hours a day or 40 hours a week; Stop bullying in any form; Rehiring all workers who have been laid off unilaterally.
The impact would be inflicted from labour strike such as resident in Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang and Bekasi (Jabodetabek) also in Puncak and Sukabumi will gas and gasoline supply shortages.
Vulnarable Ridden
Labour strike planning has been vulnarable ridden and politicized by an interest group, eventhough mass rallies and labour strike are legitimate, even its could be judged as an intention to launch an economic sabotage. Why can judge as having an intention to launch an economic sabotage ? Both of their action have a huge impacted such as disruption regional and national economic, because gas and gasoline are an economic wheels, even its could reflects nation energy security.
Whilst, mass rallies are vulnarable to traffic disruption, so that its could be triggered upset feelings or unsymphaty from another residents, so that its could be trigerred physical conflict among labour mass and local resident who rejected labour strike. If its happened, ones clearly come up allegation that Jokowi-JK administration was absent to resolve citizens problem. Those are politization nuance in every labour movement not only in Indonesia.
According to International Labour Organization data on 2014/2015, wages average in Indonesia is US$174 each month. These score was behind from Vietnam US$181 each month, Filiphinnes US$206 each month, Thailand US$357 each month, and Malaysia US$506 each month. Labour wages in Indonesia is still higher than others countries in ASEAN such as Cambodia US$119 each month and Laos US$121 each month.
Actually, labour strike or mass rallies didm’t work well as a strategy to struggle labour interest, on the contrary labour strike could raise contagion effects for labour itself such as hired from company, do not get income when the action can be carried out even if the performance was great forces arrested anarchists took place.
Therefore, a brilliant solutions to resolve labor issues in Indonesia, among others: the eradication of extortion or the like that can add to the company’s operating costs and on the other to make a reduction in the welfare of the workers; Implement legal reforms by reviewing a variety of rules that could reduce the competitiveness of Indonesia or that cause high economic costs; Strengthening institutions at the Central and Regional Tripartite; The Government through the Ministry of Manpower and the Ministry of Home Affairs should instruct local governments to urge companies to pay workers’ rights or operational permit is not extended, and if workers still rallied and potentially cause economic sabotage or stagnation of the economy and local and national, then steps law enforcement put forward, although previously necessary canalization and conditioning that labor action is not anarchist.
*) Erlangga Pratama is a founder of Lembaga Analisa Politik dan Demokrasi, Jakarta. Residing in East Jakarta.
