May Day 2012

Today, 1 May, is the international Labors Day (a.k.a May Day) which is celebrated by labors in most countries of the world.

1 May is a national holiday and celebrated officially in more than 80 countries, and celebrated unofficially in many other countries. Usually, workers and labor unions celebrate by demonstrating and marching in the streets.

According to Wikipedia, 1 May was declared as the international Labor Day by the World Socialist Congress in Paris, France, in 1889, to commemorate the general strike by thousands of workers in Chicago, U.S.A, to demand for eight-hours workday. At that time, an unknown person threw dynamite at the Police, and in response the Police fired at the workers killing a dozen demonstrators and several of their own officers.

In Indonesia, 1 May was first celebrated in the year 1920. But during the government of former President Suharto from March 1966 until 21 May 1998, celebration of May Day was forbidden because it was regarded as a Communist activity.

Since 1999, May Day celebration was allowed Indonesia although unofficially, all of which were carried out quite peacefully in cities like Jakarta, Bandung, Semarang, Surabaya, Medan, Makasar, Manado, etc. to demand the protection of workers rights. None of them can be considered as "endangering public order".

Today, the celebration in Jakarta was carried out at the Gelora Bung Karno Soccer Stadium in Senayan, in front of the Presidential Palace, House of Representatives. Tens of thousands of workers participated in the celebration but it was quite peaceful except that it caused very bad traffic jam in many streets of the city.

Among the issues being protested by the workers were Workers Welfare, Health, Retirement, Outsourcing, subsidy for workers, etc.
Beside that, they also demand that the government provide better protection for our Migrant Workers abroad, including investigate on the shooting of three of our workers in Malaysia.

Freeport Workers Plan to Strike Again

PT Freeport Indonesia, 81.28% owned by U.S Gold and Copper company Freeport-McMoran, is the world's largest producer of Gold and Copper, with its mines located in the Indonesian Province of Papua.

Freeport started mining Copper in the late '60s, but after several years it admitted that it has also been mining Gold.

Today, more than 40 years later, very large quantity of Gold and Copper have been mined and shipped to many countries of the world, making Freeport and its owners getting more richer every day.

Platts reported that Freeport's Copper production rose to 284 Million Lbs, in the January-February quarter from 279 lbs a year earlier. Gold output increased to 441,000 oz from 429,000 oz last year.  Their first half production figures were not available.

Freeport estimates its 2011 sales to hit 1 billion lbs of Copper and 1.3 million troy oz of Gold. WOW!

Unfortunately, Freeport's profit is not felt by its workers, therefore causing them to protests for better wages and working conditions.

Last July, around 8,000 workers went on strike disrupting production and halted ore shipments at the time. The workers union had then asked for a review of workers wages and welfare and also cancel the plan to fire some union members from the company's board.

But considering that Freeport has not given in to the workers demand on wage adjustments, the workers union has informed the company that around 11,025 workers plan to go on strike from 15 September to 15 October.

Meanwhile, a Freeport spokesman asked the union to keep on negotiating, saying that since negotiations started on 20 July, it has offered a good compensation package for the workers. When annualized, the package will amount to 26 times the basic monthly wage [excluding overtime]. In addition, other benefit increases include more value for housing loans, bonuses for shift work, and educational assistance for their dependent children.

I hope that the Indonesian government, which also own Freeport's shares, will persuade Freeport to give much better compensation package for the workers.

Saudi Arabia Bans Indonesian Maids

Saudi Arabia announced on Wednesday that it would stop granting work permits to domestic workers from Indonesia and the Philippines, following the restricted hiring conditions imposed by both Asean countries.   

This is a reaction to the strong protests made by the people and the government of Indonesia against the beheading of an Indonesian citizen Ruyati binti Satubi (54) who was sentenced to death by a Saudi Court for murdering of her employer.
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Kompas reported that last week President SBY denounced the beheading of Ruyati and accused Riyadh of breaking the “norms and manners“ of international relations.

Moreover, the Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Muhaimin Iskandar announced that the government shall  impose a moratorium on the sending of maids to Saudi Arabia.

I hope that from now on our government would pay much more serious attention on our workers who are working abroad, i.e. conclude agreements with foreign governments that provide strong protection for our workers working in their countries, make sure that they are well trained and skilled before they are send abroad. All of which is necessary because our workers abroad contributed big amount of foreign currency to our country.

Darsem spared from Death Execution

A Court in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, has spared an Indonesian worker i.e Darsem, from death execution after the Indonesian government paid a compensation of Rp 4.6 Billion (US$ 534,000.00).

According to The Jakarta Globe, Darsem from Subang-West Java, was convicted on May 2009 and sentenced to death despite her plea that she had killed her boss in self-defense because he had attempted to rape her.

Last January, the victim’s family forgave Darsem and agreed to spare her, but only if she could afford to pay the above mentioned compensation.

I am very happy with this news because I thought that a court's death sentence can only be cancelled by a superior court or by pardon given by the head of state, not by the victim's family pardon and compensation to them.

I wonder whether the bloodshed that has been going on for many years in the Arab world could be settled this way (by pardon and paying compensation).

Saudi Arabia Beheads an Indonesian Worker

The authoritarian regime of Saudi Arabia has carried out a death execution on an Indonesian female worker namely Ruyati on Saturday in the country's western Province of Mecca.

The execution was carried out by using a barbaric middle-age-method i.e cutting-off the head of Ruyati with a sword.

The SPA news agency quoted an official of the Saudi Interior Ministry as saying that Ruyati was found guilty of murdering Khairiya binti Hamid Mijid by hitting her in the head with a meat chopper and stabbing her in the neck.

A spokesman of the Indonesian Foreign Ministry i.e. Michael Tene criticized that the execution was done  without observing international practices related to consular protection. He said that the Ministry was aware of the case and Ruyati has confessed to the murder, but was not informed of the timing of the execution.

Meanwhile, according to his spokesman, President SBY expressed his condolence over the death of Ruyati.

I would like to expressed my deepest sympathy and condolence on the death of Ruyati. I hope that her family would be given the strength to live without her.

I also hope that our government would show much stronger reaction toward the Saudi government and try its very best to stop more beheading of our workers in the future.

Sources :
-  Saudi Beheads Indonesian Woman Convicted of Murder (Kompas)
-  Indonesia Criticized Beheading of Maid (The Jakarta Globe)
-  President saddened by Ruyati execution: spokesman (The Jakarta Post)

Protection of Indonesian Workers in Malaysia

Last Monday, the Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Muhaimin Iskandar and Malaysian Human Resource Minister Dr. Shubramaniam signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) regarding the protection of Indonesians Workers in Malaysia.

This MoU, which is an amendment of an MoU in 2006, would end a two-year freeze on Indonesian maids coming to work in Malaysia.

Antara reported that the MoU will provide the workers with one day off every week, passport shall be kept by the worker and workers' salary, and the creation of a Joint Task Force that would deal with issues raised by employers and their employees.

Meanwhile, Malay Mail reported that the Malaysian Human Resources Ministry has assured that the MoU would enable Malaysians to pay only RM 4,511 fees to hire a maid.

However, a survey on 10 maid employment agencies in Malaysia showed that prospective employers would have to pay between RM 6,000 and RM 9,000 in fees to secure the services of a maid.

One maid employment agency said that it usually charged a RM 6,000 fee to start the application process. The prospective employer would then need to pay at least another RM 3,000 for other variables to bring the maid into the country.

Another agency explained that the RM 6,000 initial fee was fixed by its Indonesian counterpart, and the additional RM 3,000 for the levy, medical examinations and visa processing and “a small profit for our agency".

Currently, most Indonesian maids received an average monthly salary of RM 400. Indonesia had proposed the salary be raised to RM 800 a month but the Malaysian government had not agreed to it, insisting it be governed by market forces.

The joint task force that will be set up, among others, will look at salary issues based on demand and supply principles.

The Malaysian Association of Foreign Maid Agencies questioned the stipulatedfee of getting a maid from Indonesian agents, saying that the cost was unrealistic, especially to agents in Indonesia, as it had yet to be seen whether Indonesian agents are willing to send maids if they do not agree with the fee stated in the MoU.

I hope that our government would be very strict in allowing workers who will be send to work in Maid and make sure that they would be given enough time to learn and practice all the things that they will be doing there. Any maid supplying agencies that cannot fulfil their obligations should be banned.

Brutality in Saudi Arabia

I believe that Saudi Arabia is one of the countries that most Indonesian Muslims are familiarize with.

This is obvious because Saudi Arabia is the birth place of Islam which is the religion of the majority people in Indonesia.

Beside that, the Saudi Arabian city of Mecca with its Ka'bah Stone is a direction where Muslims around the world should face every time they pray.

Further, the Al-Qur'an which regulates the principles of Islam is written and must be read in Arabic.

Furthermore, every year more than 200 thousand Indonesian Muslims carried out their Hajj pilgrimage at the holy city of Mecca and vicinity.

Moreover, in the last few decades, Saudi Arabia has become the working place for around one million Indonesians who therefore sent Billions of U.S Dollars back home every year.

In spite of the above mentioned fact, relationship between Indonesia and Saudi Arabia is not always smooth.
Whereby, thousands of our citizens working in that country have been treated very badly, brutally tortured, raped and even murdered by their employers.

The latest victims were Kikim Komariah who was murdered by her employer who dumped her body in a garbage bin, and Sumiati who was brutally beaten and cut by her employer.

The worst thing was that the absolute monarchy that ruled Saudi Arabia has seemingly been insensitive to the sufferings caused by their citizens' brutal behaviors. Its Ambassador to Jakarta has asked our government not to over-react, and seemingly refuse to grant visa for our cabinet minister who was assigned to head a fact finding mission on the brutality and murder.

Considering the above, I hope that our government would do whatever it can to convince the Saudi Arabian government that the brutal torture and murder of our workers in their country are against universal human rights, and Islam of course, therefore should be investigated thoroughly and those responsible should be legally punished.

I also hope that our government would improve the quality of workers who will be send to Saudi Arabia and other countries, i.e. by making sure that they are given proper training i.e. foreign language and particular skills.
At present the Manpower Ministry only required a minimum training of 200 hours or 20 days, this is surely not enough, therefore they should be trained for at least 600 hours or 60 days.

Photo : Courtesy of Google Map

A Maid Brutally Tourtured in Saudi Arabia

Many Indonesian women have been working in countries like Saudi Arabia where women are discriminated by men, therefore legal protection is limited.

Due to that country's closed society, many of those women have been treated very badly by their employers but cannot do anything.

One of those unfortunate women is Sumiati (23) who just worked there for three months but has frequently been inhumanely tortured by her Saudi masters using hot iron, scissors and other tool until almost paralysed.

The Indonesian government has strongly protested this brutality, and will dispatch a fact finding team headed by the Minister of Empowerment of Women Linda Agum Gumelar to Saudi Arabia.

Meanwhile, the Saudi Ambassador to Indonesia has call on the Indonesian government not to over react and asked them to trust his government's efforts to handle the case.

I hope that our government would make sure that this case would be investigated properly, anyone who are  responsible would be tried in Court and punished accordingly, so that our workers can work peacefully abroad.

Sources :
- Housemaid viciously abused, says Indonesian diplomat (The Saudi Gazette)
-  President demands ‘all-out’ action in maid abuse case (The Jakarta Post)
-  Saudi Arabia Asks Indonesia Not to Overreact (Kompas)


Photo :  Courtesy of The Saudi Gazette

Domestic Workers' Blues

Most households in Indonesian cities have one or more Domestic Workers to clean and even guard the house, wash and iron clothes, take care of their children, cook, etc.

The Domestic Workers, a.k.a Pembantu or Servants, would wake up at dawn before their Employers awaken, and sleep after their Employers have their dinner, or even slept.

Many of the said Employers treated their Domestic Workers unkindly, they would scold them when they are wrong and say nothing when they do good things.

Efforts have been made to protect the Domestic Workers but do not seemed to be fruitful. For example,  the Provincial government of Jakarta has issued some by-laws to protect Domestic Workers, but news reports about bad and inhumane treatments still exists. 

The central government has prepared a bill for Protection of Domestic Workers, but unfortunately the House of Representatives (DPR) postponed discussion for unclear reason. 

In order to provide a " bird's eye view " on the sufferings of some of those Domestic Workers, I have quoted an article of The Star (below).

After a grueling, 18-hour day, 15-year-old Kaminah domestic worker would rest her head on a bag filled with blood-stained clothes, sleeping on cold ceramic tiles outside the bathroom.

The blood was her own, from the beatings inflicted by her employer on a daily basis.

“[Whenever I got a beating] I would always think of my family,” Kaminah told The Jakarta Post. “Late at night, before going to sleep, I would think about my father and mother and feel very sad. I miss my parents a lot.”

UNICEF estimates that more 100,000 Indonesian women and children are trafficked annually within the country and abroad, with about one in three being under the age of 18.

Pressured by families or lured with promises of work, an alarming number of girls and women find themselves in conditions of virtual slavery, both within Indonesia and abroad.

A recently released report by the U.S. State department on human trafficking lists Indonesia as a Tier-2 country for trafficking, for not fully complying with standards set by the U.S. Trafficking Victims Protection Act.

“There is a particularly big problem with Indonesian women being trafficked as domestic workers, ending up basically enslaved in conditions in the Middle East, Malaysia, and to a lesser extent countries like Singapore,” says Elaine Pearson, Deputy Director of the Asia Division for Human Rights Watch.

“Part of the problem is that there is not effective oversight of recruitment agencies in Indonesia.”

But for some, the root of the problem lies not with the agencies, but with rampant poverty.

“I really wanted to finish school but we didn’t have enough money to pay for tuition,” another girl, Kiya, told The Jakarta Post. “So I decided to work as a domestic worker and help my family.”

Violence in Batam

" When in Rome do as the Romans do  " that's a well known adage which imply that foreigners should respect the laws, regulations, traditions, ethics of a country they are visiting.

That's what I thought when I read on The Jakarta Globe about the violence against Indian nationals working in the Island of Batam,  which was triggered by a humiliating remark made by one of the Indian workers about the Indonesian people.

I never condone violence, but I can never understand why foreigners humiliate Indonesia. Therefore, I hope that a comprehensive investigation would be carried out to find out the cause of violence, and anyone responsible would be prosecuted and punished according to the law.

April 22, 2010
Jakarta Globe

Breaking News: Violence at Batam Port Targets Foreigners

Reports are emerging of violence directed against Indian nationals employed by PT Drydock World Graha in Batam, Riau Islands province.

State news agency Antara is reporting that 41 Indian workers employed by the company were escorted by 400 police, including the armed Mobile Brigade (Brimob), from the company premises after they were attacked by local workers.

At least four of the workers were injured and about 20 vehicles set alight, Antara reported. The offices have also been trashed,.

One worker was quoted by Antara as alleging that the unrest was triggered after an Indian national said “Indonesian people were stupid.”

“This is national pride, so we are all angry,” the local, identified as Baim, said.

About 10,000 Indonesians were observed crowding the company premises singing “Great Indonesia” and other patriotic songs, Antara reported.

The National Maritime Institute (Namarin) said the recent violence at Tanjung Priok in North Jakarta was likely to raise shipping insurance costs, and its “international reputation as an export and import gate will plummet.”

The Joint War Committee, a London organization that analyzes shipping risks, had listed maritime regions in Indonesia as “war risk zones” that might pose dangers to domestic or international ships.

International Workers' Day

The First Day of May is celebrated as the International Workers' Day by workers all around the world, including Indonesia. In this connection, I would like to quote an article in Wikipedia as follows :

The International Workers' Day is the commemoration of the Haymarket Massacre in Chicago, U.S.A. in 1886, when Chicago Police fired on workers during a general strike for the eight hour day, killing a dozen demonstrators.

In 1889, a meeting in Paris for the centennial of the French Revolution and the Exposition Universelle, called for international demonstrations on the 1890 anniversary of the Chicago protests. It was so successful that May Day was formally recognized as an annual event in 1891. The May Day Riots of 1894 and May Day Riots of 1919 occurred subsequently. In 1904, the International Socialist Conference meeting in Amsterdam called on "all Social Democratic Party organizations and trade unions of all countries to demonstrate energetically on May First for the legal establishment of the 8-hour day, for the class demands of the proletariat, and for universal peace." As the most effective way of demonstrating was by striking, the congress made it "mandatory upon the proletarian organizations of all countries to stop work on May 1, wherever it is possible without injury to the workers."

Through all this turmoil in the northern hemisphere, the Stonemasons Society in the then colony of Victoria, now the State of Victoria in Australia led the battle for the 8 Hour Day, the most dramatic achievement of the early trade Union Movement.[citation needed] By 1856 Australian workers were benefiting from the results of a decision by the Collingwood Branch of the Stonemasons Society of Victoria. The same year it was recognized in New South Wales, followed by Queensland in 1858 and South Australia in 1873. A memorial statue with the numerals 888, representing 8 hours of work, 8 hours of recreation, and 8 hours of rest, sits on the corner of Lygon Street and Victoria Parade in Melbourne, Australia to this day.

May Day has long been a focal point for demonstrations by Socialist, Communist, and Anarchist groups. In some circles, bonfires are lit in commemoration of the Haymarket martyrs, usually right as the First day of May begins. It has also seen right-wing massacres of participants as in the Taksim Square massacre of 1977 in Turkey.

Due to its status as a celebration of the efforts of workers and the socialist movement, May Day is an important official holiday in Communist countries such as the People's Republic of China, Cuba, and the former Soviet Union. May Day celebrations typically feature elaborate popular and military parades in these countries.

In countries other than the United States and Canada, resident working classes sought to make May Day an official holiday and their efforts largely succeeded. For this reason, in most of the world today, May Day is marked by massive street rallies led by workers, their trade unions, anarchists and various communist and socialist parties.

In the United States, however, the official Federal holiday for the "working man" is Labor Day in September. This day was promoted by the Central Labor Union and the Knights of Labor organized the first parade in New York City. The first Labor Day celebration was held on September 5, 1882, and was organized by the Knights of Labor. The Knights began holding it every year and called for it to be a national holiday, but this was opposed by other labor unions who wanted it held on May Day (as it is everywhere else in the world). After the Haymarket Square riot in May, 1886, President Cleveland feared that commemorating Labor Day on May 1 could become an opportunity to commemorate the riots. Thus he moved in 1887 to support the Labor Day that the Knights supported.

May Day celebrations around the World :

May 1 is a national holiday in Albania, Argentina, Aruba, Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Bolivia, Bosnia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, China, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Haiti, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Italy, Ivory Coast, Jordan, Kenya, Latvia, Lithuania, Lebanon,Macedonia, Malaysia, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico, Morocco, Myanmar (Burma), Nigeria, North Korea, Norway, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, the Philippines (spelled as "Labor Day"), Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Serbia, Sweden, Syria, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, Uruguay, Venezuela, Vietnam, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.