Indonesia's new labour code
The Indonesian Government is proposing a new Manpower Bill which will consolidate the Government's repression of the labour movement and destroy any hope for legal labour organising and collective bargaining. Jean Dupont If passed, this new legislation will give the Government extensive control over every aspect of industrial relations, with unlimited power to intervene in labour disputes, and direct control over trade unions in the workplace. The new law will severely restrict workers' organising activities and reduce their collective bargaining power.
The Manpower Bill will repeal or amend six Ordinances and eight Acts.! Despite their limits, these regulations offer more protection
The new legislation embodies all of the anti-worker legislation which prompted mass protests and strikes recently in South Korea and Australia. As members of the APEC free trade system, the governments of these countries have imposed a neo-liberal agenda which combines free trade and freedom for international capital with strong state intervention to repress workers' systematically destroy workers' collective
Labour standards in industrialised and newly industrialising countries are being driven down by global competition to attract transnational capital. Countries such as Indonesia are driving standards even lower by institutionalising their repressive labour practices. The proposed law only clarifies workers' rights to the extent that it's clear they don't have any.
If the Manpower Bill is passed, it will impose the following, severe restrictions on the right to organise and freedom of association, the right to bargain collectively and the right to strike. Without these fundamental rights the provisions in the Bill concerning wages and working hours cannot Restrictions
• Restrictions on freedom of association and reinforcement of the system requiring unions to be registered with and approved by the Government (Article 34). This reinforces the Decree of the Minister of Manpower (No.PER01/MEN/1994) on the establishment of trade unions in workplaces, whereby all trade unions must register with the Ministry of Manpower and provide a list of names of trade union committee members. The Decree bans union pluralism in the workplace and states that trade unions must seek affiliation to the Government-controlled All Indonesia Workers' Union (SPSI).
• Severe restrictions on the right to strike, with unlimited power of Government intervention to end disputes. These restrictions include the requirement that workers seek permission from the Government at least 72 hours before strike action, and that the names of strike leaders must be submitted to the