SBY Found Guilty By Indonesian Court

SBY Found Guilty By Indonesian Court

Indonesia’s National Court in Central Jakarta finds Indonesian President, Vice President, Head of Parliament and eight Ministers guilty of not implementing the Social Security law for the protection of workers

INDONESIA:  Indonesia’s highest court in a landmark and unprecedented decision found the Indonesian President, Vice President, Head of Parliament and eight Ministers guilty of not implementing the law on Social Security (UU SJSN and RUU BPJS).

After a long drawn struggle to reform the social security system in Indonesia, a coalition of trade unions and non-governmental organisations called Social Security Action Committee (KAJS) led by IMF affiliate the Federasi Serikat Pekerja Metal Indonesia (FSPMI), embarked on seeking legal redress for social security protection for workers in the formal and informal sector. The complainants named the President, Vice President, Head of Parliament and eight Ministers as defendants.
The Court after twenty seven hearings found:

1. The respondents collectively guilty of not implementing the two Social Security laws
2. The Court declared and ordered that the defendants to implement the Social Security law through the introduction of regulations for the formation of a National Social Security System
3. Awarded cost amounting to IDR 2,181,000 (US$230)

Said Iqbal, FSPMI President and Chairman of KAJS said that this is a clear victory and that for the first time the courts have made such a courageous decision in favour of working people in Indonesia. He said that this is a milestone for workers struggle for social justice. However, he also expressed caution on what the government might do next.

According to Said Iqbal, the Indonesian President should implement the social security laws and provide social security protection for all people, provide social pension for workers in the formal sector and establish trust fund body to manage the social security funds.

On July 22 when Parliament met to consider the Social Security law, the FSPMI and KAJS organized mass demonstrations with participation of 10,000 people in front of Parliament and President Palace to demand the implementation of the court decision. The result of the July 22 meeting is that the President of the Republic Indonesia and the Parliament agreed to prolong discussion of the law on social security (RUU BPJS) for another two months and the final decision will have to be taken by October 21, 2011.

Said Iqbal, thanked the IMF for its continued support and stressed that in 2012 ILO would be debating social security protection and it is an ideal platform for such working class struggle for social justice. He said that the struggle is far from over and KJAS needs all the support that could be mustered.

IMF General Secretary Jyrki Raina in congratulating IMF affiliates the FSPMI and Lomenik said: "This court victory is an important landmark in the campaign of the Indonesian unions to extend social security to precarious workers. KAJS is a social alliance that fights for the benefit of all citizens and an excellent example to others of how to join forces for greater influence."Aug 01, 2011 – P. Arunasalam

Source : http://www.imfmetal.org

Posted in: Social Security