Strong Leadership in Unions is the Key to to Quality Collective Bargaining Agreement

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It is important for union leaders to participate in trainings that will equip them with skills needed to run the organization in a professional and dynamic way. In doing the struggle for the rights and interest of the workers, they must posses the understanding and insight about the current socio-economic-political situation, labor laws and regulations, skill to handle industrial relation disputes, collective bargaining agreement and skill to do negotiation, and organizational communication skill. Given that union leaders are the representatives of workers’ interest. Those points were made by Indah Budiarti, PSI Project Coordinator, in her opening remarks on the Training for Trade Union Leaders and Collective Bargaining organized by PSI/SASK Advancing Trade Union Rights Project located in 5G Resort Cijeruk, Bogor, West Java.

This training was held from 27 February to March 1, 2023 and participated by 23 union leaders from SP PLN, PPIP, SP PJB dan SPEE-FSPMI.

Further, Indah Budiarti explained the purpose of the training was to increase the capacity and ability of union leaders in organizing and leading the unions. In addition to that, to build the capacity and administrative quality of union leaders in acting their roles and fucntion in their respective unions; as well as to improve the qualty and skill of leaders in running the organization which is fraught with obstacles and dynamics.

The first session of the training started with a presentation delivered by Indah Budiarti which basically explained the current labor situation in Indonesia. The presentation briefly offered information on Indonesia’s population and the demographic bonus, economic situation in relation to the VUCA (Volatile, Uncertainty, Complexity, Ambiguity) as well as economic disruption, unemployment, union density, and union power, and also the future of union.

Next session was a discussion led by Bro Suherman from SPEE FSPMI. The theme of the discussion was “trade union leadership: who to do as union leaders”. Bro Suherman invited participants to think about how union leaders are the core team in any union, hence, they must formulate the steps and method of their work in order to build the capacity and quality of the union they run. Therefore, the union will be useful for the members and workers. He mentioned that union programs will be helpful for them to do their job in a structured way. Unions is also about collective leadership and leadership that represents their members. Building trust and capacity to work in a team is necessitate.

In the second day of the training, Bro Ismail Rifai and Bro Suherman, both from SPEE FSPMI, talked about Industrial Relation dispute settlement. The sessions was fundamental that introduced participants with terms such as bipartite, mediation/concilliation/arbitration, and industrial relation court.

Following that was the session about building an effective communication in a dynamic union. The session was led by Kahar S. Cahyono, the Information and Communication officer of KSPI.

In his session, Kahar explained that the dynamic movement of a trade union must involve interaction between the members of the union, union leaders, and external parties such as the management, government, and public. Therefore, understanding the effective communication is very important for trade union to be a dynamic movement.

Being able to communicate effectively improves the ability to convey messages clearly and appropriately. It is very important for unions to be able to communicate effectively in order to conve the message and the movement’s goals to their members, other union leaders, and external parties. The unclear and ineffective communication could create misunderstanding and disruption to the movement’s course to achieve its goals.

According to Kahar, effective communication will strengthen the coordination and collaboration of union members. It will also help to strengthen the coordination and collaboration between union members in achieving their collective goal. By communicating effectively, union members would be able to understand thier respective duties and responsibilities and work together to achieve their collective goals.

In doing its work, a union oftentime requires to influence externals parties such as the company management or the government. An effective communication will help unions to strengthen their capacity to influence the external parties and achieve their collective goal.

“An effective communication will increase union members’ participation in the movement. Members would feel that their voices is heard and then tend to get involve in the activities and retain their support for the union’s objective,” said Kahar.

“In negotiating a collective bargaining agreement, union leaders must fight for their members’ rights and interests in a fair way and in favor of the workers. They also must create an agreement that benefits both parties. Therefore, training and capacity building for union leaders is a necessitate in order to formulate and then come to a good and sustainable collective bargaining agreement,” he added.

Some other important points discussed in the training was Collective Bargaining Agreement and Trade Union, techniques and skills in CBA negotiation, and dynamic union leadership.

On these points, Herman explained that union must master the techniques and skills of negotiation. Both of them are the most effective tools to accomplish the organization’s goals dan fight for the workers’ rights. In the context of CBA negotiation between the union and management, negotiation skill is important for union leaders to attain the agreement that benefits members most.

Maintaining good relation between the union and the company is also another important point. A good negotiation could help to maintain a good relation between the union and the company. By speaking in a polite way and repsect the other parties, union leaders could create a positive atmosphere in a negotiation and promote a productive dialogue.

“By using a good negotiation skill, union leaders could then minimize the risk of potential conflict and promote constructive dialogue with mangement, hence, achieve the better result for both parties involved,” he said.

At the end of the session, participants were invited to discuss and analyze their respective union’s situation by using SWOT analysis, and how union leaders together with the members build a strong, united, and big unions. It is expected that coming back from the training, participants will be able to implement their newly acquired knowledge in their respective contexts and unions. Therefore, unions will be better in their works to defend, protect, and fight for their members.

Kepemimpinan yang Kuat di Dalam Serikat, Kunci Terwujudnya Perjanjian Kerja Bersama Berkualitas

Penting bagi bagi pengurus serikat pekerja untuk mengikuti pelatihan demi membekali diri dengan ketrampilan-ketrampilan yang dibutuhkan dalam menjalankan organisasi serikat pekerja secara professional dan dinamis. Dalam memperjuangkan hak dan kepentingan para pekerja, mereka harus memiliki pemahaman yang baik tentang situasi socio-ekonomi-politik, peraturan perburuhan, ketrampilan dalam menyelesaikan perselisihan hubungan industrial, perjanjian kerja bersama dan ketrampilan negosiasi, dan keterampilan komunikasi organisasi. Hal ini mengingat, bahwa pengurus adalah perwakilan yang mewakili kepentingan para pekerja. Demikian disampaikan oleh Indah Budiarti, PSI Project Coordinator dalam kata pembuka pelatihan Pemimpin Serikat Pekerja dan Perjanjian Kerja Bersama yang diselenggarakan oleh PSI/SASK Advancing Trade Union Rights Project di 5G Resort Cijeruk, Bogor, Jawa Barat.

Pelatihan ini diselenggarakan dari tanggal 27 Februari sampai 1 Maret 2023 diikuti 23 orang peserta mewakili SP PLN, PPIP, SP PJB dan SPEE-FSPMI.

Lebih lanjut, Indah Budiarti menyampaikan, tujuan dari pelatihan ini adalah untuk meningkatkan kemampuan dan kapasitas pemimpin serikat pekerja dalam ketrampilan berorganisasi dan memimpin serikat pekerja. Di samping itu, untuk membangun kapasitas dan kualitas administrative pemimpin serikat pekerja dalam menjalankan peran dan fungsinya dalam organisasi serikat pekerja; serta meningkatkan kualitas dan ketrampilan pemimpin dalam menjalankan organisasi serikat pekerja yang penuh dengan tantangan dan dinamika.

Sesi pertama pelatihan diawali dengan presentasi dari Indah Budiarti yang memaparkan situasi ketenagakerjaan di Indonesia. Presentasi ini memberikan kilasan informasi akan situasi terkini terkait kondisi jumlah penduduk dan bonus demografi, kondisi ekonomi terkait dengan era VUCA (Volatile, Uncertainty, Complexity, Ambiguity) dan disrupsi ekonomi, pengganguran, densitas serikat dan kekuatan serikat, dan masa depan serikat pekerja.

Sesi berikutnya diisi oleh Bro Suherman, SPEE-FSPMI, membawa peserta dalam diskusi “kepemimpinan dalam serikat pekerja: menjadi pengurus dan apa yang harus dilakukan”. Bro Suherman mengajak peserta untuk mendalami bahwa pengurus adalah tim inti dalam serikat pekerja, langkah dan kerja mereka menentukan kapasitas dan kualitas bagaimana serikat pekerja itu dijalankan dan manfaatnya bagi para anggota dan pekerja. Program kerja yang dibuat membantu mereka untuk melakukan pekerjaan secara lebih terstruktur. Serikat pekerja adalah juga kepemimpinan kolektif dan kepemimpinan yang mewakili anggotanya. Membangun kepercayaan dan kemampuan untuk melakukan kerja dalam tim sangatlah dibutuhkan.

Hari ke dua pelatihan, Bro Ismail Rifai dari SPEE-FSPMI  dan Bro Suherman mengisi materi tentang Penyelesaian Hubungan Industrial. Dalam sesi ini materi masih sangat mendasar, tetapi mengenalkan peserta mengenai bipartit, mediasi/konsiliasi/arbitrasi, dan pengadilan hubungan industrial.

Selanjutnya, materi mengenai membangun komunikasi efektif dalam pergerakan serikat pekerja yang dinamis adalah materi yang dibawakan oleh Kahar S. Cahyono, sebagai Ketua Bidang Infokom KSPI.

Disampaikan Kahar, pergerakan serikat pekerja yang dinamis melibatkan interaksi antara anggota serikat, pemimpin serikat, dan pihak eksternal seperti perusahaan, pemerintah, dan masyarakat. Oleh karena itu, memahami komunikasi efektif sangat penting dalam pergerakan serikat pekerja yang dinamis.

Hal itu, karena, akan meningkatkan kemampuan untuk menyampaikan pesan dengan jelas dan tepat. Dalam serikat pekerja, komunikasi yang jelas dan tepat sangat penting untuk menyampaikan pesan dan tujuan gerakan secara efektif kepada semua anggota serikat, pemimpin serikat, dan pihak eksternal. Komunikasi yang tidak jelas atau tidak tepat dapat menyebabkan ketidaksepahaman dan mengganggu tujuan gerakan.

Menurut Kahar, dengan kemampuan berkomunikasi yang efektif, akan memperkuat koordinasi dan kolaborasi antara anggota serikat. Komunikasi yang efektif dapat membantu memperkuat koordinasi dan kolaborasi antara anggota serikat dalam mencapai tujuan gerakan. Dengan komunikasi yang efektif, anggota serikat dapat memahami tugas dan tanggung jawab masing-masing dan bekerja sama untuk mencapai tujuan bersama.

Dalam serikat pekerja, seringkali ada kebutuhan untuk mempengaruhi pihak eksternal seperti perusahaan atau pemerintah. Komunikasi yang efektif dapat membantu memperkuat kemampuan serikat pekerja dalam mempengaruhi pihak eksternal dan mencapai tujuan gerakan.

“Komunikasi yang efektif dapat membantu meningkatkan partisipasi anggota serikat dalam gerakan. Anggota serikat yang merasa didengar dan dipahami akan lebih cenderung terlibat dalam kegiatan dan mempertahankan dukungan terhadap tujuan gerakan,” ujar Kahar.

“Dalam perjanjian kerja bersama, pemimpin/pengurus serikat pekerja harus mampu memperjuangkan hak dan kepentingan para pekerja dengan cara yang adil dan menguntungkan, serta mampu mencapai kesepakatan yang menguntungkan bagi kedua belah pihak. Oleh karena itu, pelatihan dan pengembangan keterampilan bagi pemimpin/pengurus serikat pekerja merupakan hal yang penting untuk mencapai perjanjian kerja bersama yang baik dan berkelanjutan,” ujarnya.

Hal lain yang disampaikan dalam pelatihan ini adalah berkaitan dengan Perjanjian Kerja Bersama dan Serikat Pekerja, teknik dan keterampilan Negosiasi PKB, dan kepemimpinan serikat pekerja yang dinamis.

Dalam hal ini, Herman menjelaskan, pengurus serikat pekerja perlu menguasai teknik dan keterampilan negosiasi karena negosiasi merupakan salah satu alat yang paling efektif dalam mencapai tujuan organisasi dan memperjuangkan hak-hak pekerja. Dalam konteks perundingan antara serikat pekerja dan pengusaha, keterampilan negosiasi yang baik dapat membantu pengurus serikat pekerja untuk memperoleh kesepakatan yang lebih menguntungkan bagi anggota serikat pekerja.

Menjaga hubungan yang baik antara serikat pekerja dan pengusaha: Negosiasi yang baik juga dapat membantu menjaga hubungan yang baik antara serikat pekerja dan pengusaha. Dengan berbicara dengan sopan dan menghormati pendapat lawan bicara, pengurus serikat pekerja dapat menciptakan atmosfer yang positif dalam perundingan dan mempromosikan dialog yang produktif.

“Dengan menggunakan keterampilan negosiasi yang baik, pengurus serikat pekerja dapat meminimalkan risiko konflik dan mempromosikan dialog yang konstruktif dengan pengusaha. Ini dapat membantu menghindari tindakan yang tidak produktif dan memperoleh hasil yang lebih menguntungkan bagi semua pihak yang terlibat,” ujarnya.

Mengakhiri sesi peserta diajak diskusi untuk menganalisa SWOT kondisi serikat pekerja mereka masing-masing dan bagaimana pengurus bersama anggota menjadi serikat pekerja besar, bersatu dan kuat.

Diharapkan, setelah pelatihan ini peserta bisa mengimplementasikan pengetahuan yang didapatkan selama pelatihan untuk sebesar-besarnya kepentingan anggota. Dengan demikian, serikat pekerja bisa lebih optimal dalam membela, melindungi, dan memperjuangkan anggotanya.

PLN’s Union Achieve in CBA Negotiation

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“Unity will strengthen us. On the contrary, disunity will only weaken us.” The truth contained in this sentence is believed by Serikat Pekerja Perusahaan Listrik Negara (SP PLN). They experienced failure in building the unity. Consequently, they had to pay the price. For more than ten years, since the last CBA ended in 2012, SP PLN failed to negotiate the new one.

The last Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) was agreed and signed in 2010. That was the CBA that applicable from 2010 to 2012. Finally, SP PLN succeeded in negotiating and then agreeing the CBA in 2010. It was the PKB that was valid from 2010 to 2012.  While it was still valid, the agreed CBA extended until 2013.

The CBA should had been renewed and renegotiated in 2013. However, due to the split, hence the leadership dualism, the negotiation failed to take place. The SP PLN was split into two unions: SP PLN third floor and SP PLN ninth floor. Beside, there are another fraction of workers that established another 3 more unions.

This split then weakened the union, so that they were unable to reach an agreement in the PKB negotiations. In turn, this has an impact on the interests of workers.

During the period where there was no CBA, the board of director issued regulations without any consultation with the union. Ironically, the issued directors’ regulations mostly harmed the workers. To name some, the provision about workers mutation, career system, and also a provision about prohibition for workers to marry co- workers. If a worker marries her/ his co- worker that works in PT PLN, one of them must resign.

This provision was actually a product of the old CBA that stated that the board of directors is allowed to create a system of Human Resources (HR) with a communication with the union. The clause ” with a communication” was interpreted as notification to the union after the provision was issued, not as consultation and then agreed by the union. The Communication can be done in written or oral manner. When it was done in oral manner, there was no proof/ evidence of it. On the ground that the the communication was done, the board of directors issued different provisions, specifically on the new HR provision during the time when CBA was non-existent.

In 2016, there was an attempt to renegotiate the CBA by the union. However, the negotiation did not complete, hence did not result in the new CBA. The main problem for this failure was the dualism of leadership on the union side.

Luckily, the leaders of SP PLN immediately realize that. Finally, the leaders of third floor and ninth floor SP PLN took a step to unite themselves just like before.

In 2019, the unification of the third and ninth floor happened after the dualism for ten years. As mentioned earlier, the unification was initiated by the members who wanted to unite. They were tired of the endless leadership dualism of trade union in PT PLN. On the other hand, the company kept issuing regulations that harmed the workers.

The Negotiation

The newly unified union’s priority was to formulate and negotiate the new CBA.

However, it was not that easy. Each union (beside SP PLN, it is existing 3 more unions) claimed that it was the rightful and held the mandate to represent the workers in the negotiation. Under this situation, the union held a membership verification in order to determine which union had the right to represent the members in the negotiation.

The membership verification resulted in SP PLN had the majority membership with 29,452 members. Together with SP PLN, there was another union that was decided to participate in the negotiation.

However, the problem did not end there. There were misconceptions between unions that slowed the negotiation process down. While the negotiation was still going, the management of PT PLN filed a lawsuit to Jakarta Selatan District Court to determine which union was to represent in the negotiation. The District Court rejected the suit as it was an industrial relation case, not a criminal one.

The next mezasure taken was to get a recommendation from the Ministry of Manpower on who or which union has the right to be in the negotiation. The Ministry of Manpower’s recommendation was for the unions to do membership verification. The result of the verification was SP PLN to represent the workers in the negotiation as other unions only had less than 10% membership each.

In essence, now SP PLN was the rightful representative in the CBA negotiation. And it was proven that with the support of all members and the negotiation team, the negotiation that was started on August 19 was concluded and signed on October 12, 2022.

The result was a CBA consisted of 15 chapters and 90 articles. The articles were formulated by the elaboration of several agreements discussed during the negotiations of 2016’s CBA, board of directors’ decisions issued during the absence of CBA, and the newest draft. It was acknowledged that the end product, the new CBA, wasso much better than the initial draft proposed by SP PLN.

Old and New CBA, What’s theDifference?

The Chairperson of SP PLN, Muhammad Abrar Ali, said that the result of the negotiation was fantastic. “The newly agreed CBA is beyond our expectation. It is so much better than the draft that we proposed. It all thanks to the solid members of SP PLN and also all the functionaries,” he said.

“I am optimistic that the CBA that was signed on 12 October 2022 would be able to improve the company’s performance, and it is a collective effort to accelerate the company’s transformation process. The agreed CBA became the momentum for PLN’s breakthrough. The union had been waiting for this momentum for more than ten years. Through this agreement, the management and union could then harmonized their mission and vision in order to achieve PLN’s objectives,” he added.

He also asserted that the CBA had helped to unite the union’s and the management’s vision and mission. Each had its own that many times are contradicting. However, after both discussed the company’s vision and mission, both parties then found that actually they had similar vision and mission.

“We could find it. We agreed that PLN is the heart of Indonesia, especially in managing the electricity. We work together to contribute to the nation and the state,” he added.

In the same occasion, the head of the Negotiation Team who was also the General Secretary of SP PLN, Bintoro Suryo Sudibyo, asserted that “Thanks to SP PLN’s negotiation strategy that the union could conviced the board of directors to agree to what we had proposed.”

“This is very encouraging. The most important is that this CBA’s orientation is to improve workers’ welfare that essentially is the right of the workers and their families. Even all the things that are related to nominal, it will be the minimum amount. It means, when PLN is in financial trouble, that will be the minimum amount that will be paid to the workers. But if the situation is better, the workers will receive a bigger amount just like what was agreed in the CBA,” he said.

Bintoro then mentioned in detail what are the differenced between the old and the new CBA.

In the old CBA, the remainder of annual leave (the days that is not taken by workers) can not be taken the next year. In the new CBA, half of the remainder of annual leave can be used in the upcoming year. For example, if a worker has a remainder twelve days of annual leave this year. He/she will have six days (half of the remainder) of extra annual leave next year. So the total of his/her annual leave next year will be eighteen days instead of twelve.

In the old CBA, the annual leave deducts workers’ workhours. But in the new one, it does not. The consequence of workhour deduction is the decrease of thier benefits. With the new applicable CBA that ensure workers do not loss their workhour due to leave, workers tend to take their annual leave now.

In the new CBA, a long period of rest is awarded every six years and the duration is three months. While in the old CBA, the validity period of long period of rest was two years, now, it is six years. It means that although it has been two years since the last long period of rest, a worker still could take the leave before the period ends.

In addition, the long period of rest would annihilate the annual leave in the old CBA. While in the new CBA, this type of rest does not deduct the number of annual leave nor wage. Meanwhile, the number of days of rest used to be a fifteen days cycle, now it is ten days of cycle. In other words, the long period of rest is ninety days in total can be taken nine times. Under old CBA, although the leave is only taken once and the number of days is less than fifteen days, then it is taken.

In the new CBA, there is also a recomposition. In the old one, the fix cost and variable cost are almost equal in number. Monthly payroll and bonus are also almost equal. Finally, it was agreed to be 70% fix cost and 30% variable cost. With the changes in the composition, at least there are three benefits. First, the uncertain cost become certain. For example, bonus. The old CBA said that if one received a disciplinary sanction, one would lose one’s bonus. The new one says that one will still get the bonus although one receive a disciplinary sanction because the bonus is a fixed cost. Second, the money that we get now is different from the the money that we will get tomorrow. Third, reduce the company’s actuarial burden. This is because the long term liability that used to be very big, now it si withdrawn forward.

Another difference is about maternity leave. The old CBA said that maternity leave is only three months, now, it is four months. The old CBA also said that maternity leave reduced the number of annual leave and workhour. The new one is the opposite.

For joint-holiday-leave, the new CBA does not reduce the number of annual leave and long period of rest. Even for workers who work during joint-holiday-leave will be awarded with compensation. For example, workers who work in Idul Fitri days or Chrismast. The old CBA said that no compensation for them as it is an obligation.

The old CBA said that workers only receive one holiday allowance ever year. Now, workers will receive two holiday allowance per year. Because the amount is minimum, there is a possibility to get more than once.

For dispensation or leaving work but does not deduct the wage, the new CBA makes a significant improvement. The old CBA said that for their wedding, a worker only got three days, but now they will get five days. It also applies for a worker who marries their childre off. They will get five days instead of three days off the work.

For husbands whose wives are giving birth, they only got two days leave. But now, they could ge a month without any wage deduction. For parents, parent-in-laws, wives, children whose family member(s) dies, they would get five days. It used to be only three days.

In addition to that, workers whose family member dies but in different city, they would get extra leave up to twelve days to account for the travel needed.

To take care of their sick parents/parent-in-laws/husbands/wives/children, workers get two days leave. For graduation (theirs or their children’s) they will get a day leave. These provisions did not exist in the old CBA.

When there is a force majeur such as natural disaster, workers are also entitled of a leave, maximum of a month.

The old CBA said that workers would receive 1.5 million rupiah per workers for glasses. The new one increases the amount to be 5 million rupiah per workers. While it used to be once in three years, now it is once in two years. It used to be only the workers who got the benefit, now it is also the family: husband/wife and children. But only for once.

There are also improvement in assistance and facilities for trade union. There are three assistance provided by the company. First, the check of system. Second, direct assistance that is calculated based on the number of the member, and third, trade union secretariat. There are three conditions to get those assistance from the company. The conditions are as follow: the number of member must be a least 10% of the total workers; second, the organizational structure on DPD level must be at least 50% plu sone from the parent unit; and third, a secretariat will be provided in the area where the union is registered.

Under this new CBA, SP PLN is the only union in PT PLN that is eligible for the assistance and facilities. Therefore, it is SP PLN who will receive facilities from the company in the form of direct assistance, check of system for membership dues, and secretariat. However, other unions who are not eligible for this are allowed to do their function in the industrial relation. They just will not receive any facilities from the company.

The agreed CBA regulates the age of retirement is 56. But now it is being discussed to change it to be 58 years or more. Therefore, the CBA says that should the ministry allow, the age of retirement is 58 years or more or will follow the decision. While the amount of pension also increase.

Working after retirement used to be based on the company’s need and willingness of the retiree. But now it is different. Other than based on the company’s need and willingness of the retiree, it is also based on the request of the retiree. So it does not have to wait for the company. It used to be bound and must wait until the end, but now, they can propose the new ones.

There are new benefits and allowance for performance incentive under the new CBA. Worekrs will get several types of allowance in addition to P1, which is the fixed income. There were only P2 and P3 for allowance, but now there is P2 1A, P2 1B. And there is also P2 1A, P2 1B, and also P3 1A dan P3 1B.

PLN did not cover the workers’ wives’ health insurance if the wives work in different company. Now, the wives who work in other company/office whose health insurance is BPJS  are included in the health insurance provided by PLN. Principally, anyone with health insurance that is lower than the one provided by PLN will be covered.

There was not any official travel, now there is. Workers who choose to work outside their areas, they will get official trave allowance. If his/her family member(s) dies, he/she will get official travel allowance to attend their funeral. The worker’s family who must travel to bury  her/him will also receive official travel allowance.

Another thing that the new CBA regulates is related to mutation. A worker who will retire in three months can propose a mutation/move to other area/city. He/she will receive the movement allowance. The company must not reject the request.

Workers who work under high risk condition, use a lot of physical force, when they turn 45 years old, they must be transferred to other position that does not require physical labor. Including workers who work in frontiers, outermost, and remoted areas, after two years, they have to be transferred to other areas which does not belong to the category of three. Prior to the CBA’s signed the union able to negotiate for the cancellation of pension age discrimination, therefore it will be no more pension age 46 for the HCMS employees. The decision benefited for more that 2000 employees

A worker can propose for a mutation based on their personal curcumstance such as to move with their husband/wife or children, or other specific reasons. Previously, workers who proposed a mutation/tranfer would be demoted. Now, they won’t be. Workers are allowed to propose mutation/transfer twice. Previously, it was only once. There were not any rules on when a worker would get an answer/decision on his/her mutation/transer request. Now, the company must answer or respond in 30 days at the latest. If there is not answers, the concerned official will receive a disciplinary sanction.

As for the categories of work accidents that result in death, total or partial permanent disability, burns, and work-related illnesses, insurance are provided. So they will not only get treatment, but also get benefits.

In the case of  a worker who experience a work accident either disabled or dies, assistance is given to the child’s education until they graduate from S1. Their children will also be given a priority to work in the company during an open recruitment.

Another thing that is new is that the company does not only guarantee physical health. But also mentally, in the form of psychological rehabilitation as needed.

Previously, umroh was included in training before retirement, now it is not included in training. Umrah is a separate facility. 1 time umrah allowance with husband/wife. Meanwhile, training ahead of retirement is a separate facility.

Working after Retirement

Will the new CBA at PT PLN (Persero) have an impact on the subsidiary companies? There will be an indirect effect.

This is due to the commitment in the CBA the subsidiary companies must provide the same welfare and career opportunities for workers who are assigned to work there. Those workers must not receive any lower benefits. Therefore,whether they like it or not, the subsidiaries must ratify PT PLN’s CBA and adjust to as well comply with the provisions in the new CBA.

There has been a communication that HR wants the union members who are assigned to subsidiaries to be members of SP PLN.

Closing

Currently, the technical guidelines for CBA implementation (juknis) are being discussed. It has been agreed in the CBA that the technical guidelines must be discussed and agreed upon with the unions, and will become effective as of October 2022 even though the discussions will end in 2023.

Some of the technical guidelines that are being discussed are the workers talent management system, career system, reward management system, performance management system, discipline regulations, and also the health care system.

So far, SP PLN has conducted socialization on the contents of the CBA to several main units. Majority of workers appreciate and welcome the new CBA. Even workers said they were satisfied with the contents of the CLA.

As a result, the membership of the SP PLN workers union has increased. Many workers then register as members of SP PLN. Workers believe that SP PLN is able to defend, protect and fight for the interests of workers.

Again, as written at the beginning of the article, this proves that unity will strengthen. As the slogan of the movement is often repeated, “Workers united cannot be defeated.”

Memperkuat Solidaritas Pekerja Ketenagalistrikan melalui Forum Komunikasi Serikat Pekerja Ketenagalistrikan (FKSPK) Jawa Tengah—DIY

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Forum Komunikasi Serikat Pekerja Ketenagalistrikan (FKSPK) Jawa Tengah—DIY menggelar pertemuan hari ini, Rabu, 8 Februari 2023 di Pondok Tingal, Borobudur, Magelang, Jawa Tengah.

Hadir dalam pertemuan ini adalah perwakilan dari DPD SP PLN UID JTY, SERBUK Indonesia, SPEE FSPMI, PPIP, SPLAS, SPLAM, SPL HPI, dan perwakilan-perwakilan TAD PLN yang belum berserikat.

Forum Komunikasi yang digagas oleh DPD SP PLN UID JTY dan Komwil SERBUK Jateng—DIY ini dimaksudkan untuk membangun kesepemahaman antar serikat-serikat pekerja ketenegalistrikan di Jawa Tengah DIY. Ketenagalistrikan sebagai sektor ekonomi strategis harus bisa memberi manfaat bagi para buruh di sektor ini dan masyarakat pada umum.

Forum yang dikemas dalam bentuk sarasehan ini menghasilkan beberapa rekomendasi penting untuk menghadapi dinamika di sektor ini, khususnya menghadapi isu privatisasi PLN dan problem ketenagakerjaan akibat PERPPU Cipta Kerja, contohnya adalah pemberlakuan sistem kerja berbasis volume yang berpeluang besar menghilangkan hak-hak kesejahteraan yang selama ini diterima oleh pekerja.

Hamdani AP, Koordinator FKSPK sekaligus Ketua DPD SP PLN UID JTY, dalam sambutannya menegaskan tentang pentingnya persatuan dan sinergi antar serikat pekerja untuk menjawab tantangan di sektor ketenagalistrikan. “Dampak buruk berlakunya PERPPU Cipta Kerja bagi kaum buruh tidak bisa lagi dihadapi sendiri-sendiri, sebab daya rusaknya bersifat massal. Oleh karena itu diperlukan persatuan antar serikat pekerja untuk menahan dampak buruk itu.” Tegas Bung Hamdani.

Hadir juga dalam acara ini bung Slamet Supriyadi, sekretaris umum SPEE – FSPMI. Beberapa buah pemikiran penting yang dia sumbangkan hari ini adalah bagaimana pentingnya memetakan persoalan-persoalan yang sedang dan akan dihadapi kaum buruh, khususnya di sektor ketenagalistrikan.

Bung Slamet memberi contoh mengapa SPEE memilih bernegosiasi dengan PLN terkait isu-isu di Tenaga Alih Daya (TAD) PLN, padahal TAD-TAD tersebut kontrak kerjanya dengan vendor-vendor PLN bukan dengan PLN. “Jika kami sebelumnya tidak melakukan pemetaan kemungkinan besar negosiasi dan aksi kami hanya ditujukan kepada vendor saja. Namun, dengan pemetaan masalah kita menjadi tahu pihak-pihak mana saja yang menjadi penyebab munculnya masalah tersebut.” Terang bung Slamet. Hal ini sekaligus menjawab pertanyaan tentang mengapa SPEE aksi ke PT. PLN pusat beberapa waktu lalu.

Indah Budiarti, PSI Communications and Project Coordinator (Southeast Asia Office) hadir dalam forum ini. Indah menyampaikan bahwa forum ini hendaknya mampu membuat rencana dan aksi strategis. Mampu memiliki tuntutan yang jelas dan dapat dicapai; memiliki kekuatan yang besar, dan bersatu; memiliki daya tahan yang sama, konsisten dan semakin kuat.

Salah satu rekomendasi yang menjadi prioritas dalam forum hari ini adalah meningkatkan rekruitmen ke dalam serikat pekerja/buruh untuk TAD di Jawa Tengah. Hal ini untuk menjawab salah satu problem rendahnya densitas serikat pekerja di sektor ketenagalistrikan, khususnya serikat pekerja di TAD di Jawa Tengah, yang mayoritas buruhnya belum berserikat.

Ke depan FKSPK akan rutin bertemu untuk merumuskan metode yang tepat agar rekomendasi-rekomendasi yang dicanangkan bisa tercapai.

Raturan Buruh TAD Geruduk Kantor Pusat PT. PLN (Persero) Tuntut Haknya

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Ratusan orang buruh yang tergabung dalam Serikat Pekerja Elektronik Elektrik – Federasi Serikat Pekerja Metal Indonesia (SPEE FSPMI) menggelar aksi unjuk rasa di Kantor Pusat PT PLN (Persero) yang terletak di Jl Trunojoyo, Jakarta, Kamis (2/2).

Massa aksi berasal dari berbagai daerah seperti Lampung, Cirebon, Sumbar, Bogor, Indramayu, Purwakarta, Bandung, Makassar, Depok, Cianjur, Karawang, Tangerang, Sukabumi, hingga Bekasi. Mereka bekerja di perusahaan vendor PLN atau Tenaga Alih Daya (TAD) di Pembangkitan, Distribusi, Jaringan:  Pelayanan Handalseperti Penanganan Gangguan Alat Pengukur & Pembatas (APP), Penanganan Gangguan Sambungan Rumah (SR), Penanganan Gangguan Jaringan Tegangan Rendah (JTR), Penanganan Gangguan Gardu Distribusi, Penanganan Gangguan Jaringan Tegangan Menengah (JTM), Penanganan Gangguan Saluran Kabel Tegangan Menengah (SKTM). Serta Tenaga Alih Daya ( TAD ) di bagian retail atau bagian catat meter dan penagihan tunggakan pelanggan yang biasa disebut Biller.

Aksi ini dipicu oleh keluarnya Perdir PLN Nomor 0219 tahun 2019, maka telah mengakibatkan terjadinya penurunan upah TAD berupa penurunan upah pokok, Tunjangan Hari Raya, Tunjangan Hari Tua, Tunjangan Pensiun, Kompensasi pesangon, dan upah lembur.

Hal itu diperparah lagi dengan dikeluarkannya kebijakan yang baru dari PT. PLN (Persero ) melalui EDIR 019 tahun 2022 bahwa beberapa jenis pekerjaan di PLN memakai system Volume Based yang mengakibatkan tidak adanya kepastian hubungan kerja, kepastian upah, dan kepastian jaminan sosial.

Untuk Tenaga Alih Daya bagian Biller, selain terdampak terhadap hal tersebut di atas, juga terdampak atas perubahan kebijakan dari PLN atas periode pelunasan tagihan pelanggan. Di mana sebelumnya periode 6 bulan menjadi periode 1 bulan.

Setiap bulan harus nihil tunggakan pelanggan. Akibatnya, Tenaga Alih Daya terpaksa harus melunasi (menalangi) tagihan pelanggan PLN agar kinerjanya tidak buruk dan terhindar dari sanksi surat peringatan sampai PHK.

Lebih dari itu, di dalam pasal 33 Undang Dasar 1945 sudah ditegaskan, bahwa cabang cabang produksi yang penting bagi negara dan yang mengusai hajat hidup orang banyak dikuasai oleh negara. Berkaitan dengan hal tersebut, sudah perlu diragukan lagi, bahwa listrik adalah cabang yang penting bagi negara dan menguasai hajat hidup orang banyak sehingga harus dikuasai oleh negara.

Penguasaan oleh negara sebagaimana dimaksud di atas harus kita maknai dalam kerangka konstitusi. Dalam hal ini kita bisa merujuk pada ketentuan dalam pertimbangan hukum putusan Mahkamah Konstitusi  No 001-021-0211/PUU-I/2002 terkait dengan pengujian UU no. 20/2002 tentang Ketenagalistrikan. Dsebutkan disana bahwa penguasaan negara dalam kacamata konstitusi haruslah berada dalam 5 dimensi: kebijakan, tindakan pengurusan, pengaturan, pengelolaan, dan pengawasan.

Ketika kita bicara bagaimana listrik bisa dinikmati rakyat Indonesia, ada beberapa tahapan yang harus dilewati, yaitu mulai dari pembangkitan, transmisi, distribusi, hingga retail atau penjualan. Oleh karena itu , penguasaan negara harus mencakup semua tahapan tersebut. Tetapi sayangnya saat ini telah terjadi privatisasi, karena semua tahapan tersebut sebagian diserahkan ke pihak swasta.

Seharusnya di semua tahapan tersebut dikuasai oleh negara melalui perusahaan BUMN, dalam hal ini PT. PLN (Persero) yang diberi mandat berdasarkan Undang undang untuk mengelola sektor ketenagalistrikan. Dengan kata lain tidak boleh diserahkan kepada perusahaan swasta yang akhirnya menyebabkan diskriminasi  dan pelanggaran terhadap hubungan kerja serta tingkat kesejahteraan terhadap Tenaga Alih Daya ( TAD ). Dalam jangka panjang privatisasi  akan berdampak kepada mahalnya tari listrik yang merugikan masyarakat luas.

Swastanisasi sektor ketenagalistrikan bukan saja pelanggaran terhadap konstitusi, tetapi juga menyebabkan ketidakpastian terhadap perlindungan K3, status hubungan kerja, dan menurunya kesejahteraan para buruh yang bekerja di sektor ketenagalistrikan.  Dan dalam jangka panjang, akan berakibat pada mahalnya tarif listrik.

Berkaitan dengan hal tersebut di atas, dalam aksi ini SPEE-FSPMI mengusung 7 tuntutan, berikut :

1. Tolak Penurunan Upah Pekerja/Tenaga Alih Daya (TAD)

2. Tolak Perubahan Status Hubungan Kerja Tenaga Alih Daya ( TAD )

3. Tolak Jenis Pekerjaan berdasarkan Volume Based dan Pola Kemitraan.

4. Tolak Dana Talangan Pelanggan PLN.

5. Stop Kecelakaan Kerja di Lingkungan Kerja PLN

6. Angkat Tenaga Kerja Alih Daya ( TAD ) menjadi pekerja di anak perusahaan PT. PLN

7.  Pekerjakan kembali 19 Tenaga Alih Daya (TAD) yang telah di PHK sepihak oleh PT. DKB di Lampung.

Hundreds of Outsourced Workers Held a Protest in front of PT PLN (Persero) demanding their fightful Rights

Hundreds of workers under the Serikat Pekerja Elektronik Elektrik – Federasi Serikat Pekerja Metal Indonesia (SPEE FSPMI) held a protest action in front of PT PLN (Persero) head office on Jalan Trunojoyo, Jakarta, on Thursday (2/2).

The protest mass came from different areas of the country such as Lampung, Cirebon, Sumbar, Bogor, Indramayu, Purwakarta, Bandung, Makassar, Depok, Cianjur, Karawang, Tangerang, Sukabumi, and Bekasi. They are the workers of PLN vendors, in other words,  PLN’s outsourced workers. They mainly work in the distribution, generation, network-grid:   Reliable Service such as Troubleshooting on Gauges and Circuit Breaker (APP), Troubleshooting on House Installation (SR), Troubleshooting on Low Voltage Network (JTR), Troubleshooting on Distribution Substation, Troubleshooting on Medium Voltage Network (JTM), Troubleshooting on Medium Voltage Cable Line (  Pelayanan Handal seperti Penanganan Gangguan Alat Pengukur &SKTM). Also participating, the outsourced workers in retail or workers who record the meter of electricity and debt collectors called biller.

The protest action was triggered by the inssuance of PLN’s President Regulation No. 0219 of 2019 that resulted in the the decrease of outsourced workers’ wages, holiday benefit, JHT, pension, severance payment and compensation, and overtime pay.

This situation was aggravated by the issuance of new policy under the EDIR 019 of 2022 that resulted in several jobs in PLN to be using volume based system. This new policy resulted in the loss of job security, the employment certainty, wage certainty, and also social  security.

The outsourced workers in retail section or called the biller experienced all of the above-mentioned changes. PLN’s new policy also changed the period of customers’ payment from 6 months to only a month.

The new policy sets that there must be no outstanding payment from the consumer side. Consequently, the outsourced workers must pay the outstanding payment every month so that they will not get bad review due to bad performance, hence they would not get any sanction or warning letter, or even termination.

Furthermore, article 33 of Indonesian Constitution of 1945 asserts that sectors of production which are important for the country and affect the life of the people shall be under the powers of the State. It is no doubt that electricity is a sector of production that is important and affect the life of the people and therefore must be under the power of the state.

Under the power of the state as mentioned above must be understood under the fram of the constitution. We can refer to the provisions in the legal considerations of Constitutional Court Decision No 001-021-0211/PUU-I/2002 on judicial review against Law No. 20/2002 on Electricity. The provision said that under the constitution, the ownership of the state over electricity must be in five dimensions: policy, action, management, regulation, and supervision.

When we talk about how Indonesian can enjoy electricity, there are several steps from generation, to transmission, distribution, to retail or sale. Therefore, control of the state must also covers all the steps. However, unfortunately, today, some of the steps have been privatized, by handing them over to the privates.

The state must control all the sections through its State-owned companies (BUMN), in this matter is PT PLN (Persero). PT PLN is mandated under the Law to manage the electricity in this coutnry. In other words, electricity must not be handed over to private companies that could create discrimination and violate the employment relation the outsourced workers. Finally, the outsourced workers would lose their basic rights. In the long run, privatization will increase the price of electricity that will put more burden to the people.

Privatization of electricity is not just unconstitutional, but also worsen the OSH protection, violate the employment contract, and decline in the welfare of workers working in the electricity sector. Finally, it will also increase the price of electricity.

Against that background, SPEE-FSPMI demand the following:

1. Reject the decline of wage of workers and outsourced workers

2. Reject the alteration of Employment Agreement of Outsourced Workers

3. Reject the volume-based system and partnership system

4. Reject the bailout for PLN Customers

5. Stop Work accidents in PLN

6. Regularize the Outsourced Workers to be the workers of PT PLN’s subsidiaries

7.  Reinstate the 19 Outsourced workers who were laid off unilaterally by PT DKB in Lampung

Public Services International (PSI) Ingatkan Dua Hal yang Mengakibatkan Harga Listrik Mahal

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Andy Wijaya selaku perwakilan Public Services Internasional (PSI) mempertanyakan, mengapa harga energi yang terjangkau tidak menjadi isu strategis dalam pembahasan Strategic Environmental and Social Assessment (SESA) Preliminary Scoping Report Workshop yang diselenggarakan di Hotel Novotel Bogor pada tanggal 26-27 Januari 2023.

Pernyataan Andy merujuk pada paparan Masyita Crystallin dari Kementerian Keuangan yang menekankan Energy Transition Mechanism pada 2 hal yaitu just transition dan affordable, “Kenapa harga listrik yang terjangkau tidak menjadi isu pada sesi ini?” Tanya Andy Wijaya.

Lebih lanjut, Andy yang juga Sekretaris Jenderal Persatuan Pegawai Indonesia Power (PPIP) ini menyampaikan, harga energi baru terbarukan sekarang ini masih jauh lebih tinggi dibandingkan dengan harga energi dari fosil, terutama batubara.

Mengingat eneri baru terbarukan juga akan dijual kepada masyarakat, tentu kita juga harus mengkaji dampak buruknya kepada masyarakat. Karena harga listrik yang mahal, akan membebani masyarakat.

Selain itu, lanjut Andy, Public Services Internasional (PSI) pernah melakukan beberapa study di Inggris, Afrika Selatan, dan Asia Tenggara.

“Study tersebut menyimpulkan, bahwa kepemilikan pembangkitan yang bukan oleh negara atau dimiliki oleh pihak swasta itu biasanya akan berdampak pada harga listrik yang semakin mahal,” ujar Andy.

Untuk itu, di tengah kondisi ketenagalistrikan Indonesia hari ini yang sedang over suplay, maka kedua hal tersebut harus menjadi perhatian serius oleh pemerintah. Karena bagaimana pun, persoalan energi terbarukan dan privatisiasi di sektor ketenagalistrikan akan berdampak pada mahalnya harga listrik.

SPLAM Merayakan Kemenangan

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Selasa (10/1), Serikat Pekerja Listrik Area Magelang (SPLAM) Korwil Borobudur mengadakan tasyakuran di salah satu rumah anggota yang terletak di Dusun Malang Wirosuko, Sawangan, Magelang. Di lereng Gunung Merbabu, yang saat acara berlangsung puncaknya sedang diselimuti kabut tebal.

Tasyakuran ini digelar setelah di pertengahan Desember 2022 lalu, SPLAM berhasil memenangkan perjuangan melawan PT. DJU yang telah melakukan pemotongan upah secara ilegal, dalam satu setengah tahun terakhir. PLN UID Jateng-DIY melakukan pemutusan kontrak sepihak kepada PT. DJU setelah mereka tidak mau mengembalikan pemotongan upah yang telah dilakukan secara melanggar hukum.

Para pekerja Tenaga Alih Daya PLN ini kemudian dialihkan kepada vendor baru, yakni PT. Haleyora Powerindo. Memang, tidak ada yang ideal dengan sistem Outsorcing, namun setidaknya, anggota-anggota SPLAM yang bekerja sebagai tenaga pencatat meter ini sekarang telah menerima upah sesuai nominal yang diperjanjikan. Rerata ada kenaikan sebesar 300 ribu dari upah terakhir yang mereka terima di vendor lama.

Abdul Gopur yang hadir sebagai Koordinator Wilayah Jateng—DIY SERBUK Indonesia, dalam sambutannya memberikan catatan penting, agar SPLAM tidak lengah dengan kemenangan yang berhasil diraih, sebab tantangan di hari-hari depan tidak lah mudah. “Ok. Hari ini boleh kita bergembira. Senang-senang. Tapi, jangan berlarut, jangan lena. Masih banyak tuntutan lain yang menunggu untuk diperjuangkan. Tetap solid dan kompak.” Pesan Gopur.

PPIP Menduga Adanya Praktik Union Busting Gaya Baru

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Union busting gaya baru. Barangkali ini adalah istilah yang tepat untuk menggambarkan apa yang terjadi dengan perundingan addendum Perjanjian Kerja Bersama (PKB) di PT Indonesia Power. Jika dulu union busting dilakukan dengan cara “menghilangkan” pengurus serikat pekerja. Tetapi yang sekarang terjadi adalah “menghilangkan” kewenangan serikat pekerja.

Normalnya, PKB di PT Indonesia Power akan berakhir pada tanggal 31 Desember 2023. Tetapi baru pada tanggal 11 November 2022, perusahaan meminta untuk dilakukan perundingan addendum PKB. Atas permintaan tersebut, serikat pekerja memberikan balasan pada tanggal 15 November. Intinya, serikat pekerja setuju dilakukan perundingan. Baru kemudian tanggal 29 November dilakukan pertukaran SK juru runding, dan tanggal 30 November dilakukan pertukaran draft PKB.

Perundingan sendiri dijadwalkan akan diselenggarakan di Semarang pada tanggal 1-2 Desember 2022. Kemudian dilanjutkan di Bogor, tanggal 5-7 Desember 2022.

Mengapa harus ada addendum? Ini berawal dari kebijakan PT PLN (Persero) yang akan menugaskaryakan pegawainya ke Sub Holding. Di mana PT PLN (Persero) menegaskan, konpensasi (remunerasi dan benefit) pegawai yang ditugaskaryakan ke Sub Holding tidak akan lebih rendah dari kompensasi yang dibayarkan kepada pegawai PT PLN (Persero) yang ditugaskan ke Holding. Untuk memastikan hal itu, Sub Holding diminta untuk meratifikasi PKB PT PLN untuk menjamin kesetaraan hak-hak kepegawaian antara pegawai PT PLN (Persero) yang ditugaskaryakan ke Sub Holding dengan pegawai PT PLN (Persero) yang bertugas di Holding.

Bagi PPIP, kebijakan untuk meratifikasi PKB PT PLN (Persero) dinilai sebagai pemaksaan aturan dari PLN. Padahal, meskipun satu group, antara PT PLN dan PT Indonesia Power terdapat aturan yang berbeda. Sayangnya, ketika menetapkan aturan baru, PT PLN tidak mempertimbangkan sudah sejauh mana benefit yang didapatkan anak perusahaan. Jika kemudian PT Indonesia Power diminta mengikuti ketentuan PT PLN, maka bisa dipastikan beberapa kesejahteraan pegawai PT Indonesia Power akan turun.

Seharusnya Perusahaan Induk terlebih dahulu membuat pemetaan. Di bagian mana saja yang unggul, itulah yang dijadikan base line perubahan system. Jika harus mengikuti standard yang di tetapkan oleh Induk Perusahaan, maka banyak yang turun. Terutama di PT Indonesia Power dan PT PJB.

Dalam berunding, kedua belah pihak sifatnya setara. Tidak boleh dipaksakan. Dalam hal ini, PP IP memiliki hak untuk tidak setuju jika benefit yang selama ini diterima akan diturunkan. Masalahnya, Induk Perusahaan memiliki daya tekan. Mereka adalah pemegang persetujuan atas Rencana Kerja Anggaran (RKA) di anak perusahaan. Seperti biaya kepegawaian, biaya operasional, dan lain sebagainya. Dalam hal ini, Induk Perusahaan mempunyai hak untuk mengurangi biaya kepegawaian. Dan jika itu terjadi, PT Indonesia Power sebagai anak perusahaan tidak bisa berbuat apa-apa. Artinya, ketentuan yang diatur di dalam PKB PT Indonesia Power tidak bisa dijalankan, karena anggarannya tidak disetujui oleh Induk Perusahaan.

Jika itu terjadi, apa namanya jika bukan pemaksaan? Dan pemaksaan sepihak untuk melakukan ratifikasi itulah yang patut diduga sebagai union busting gaya baru. Serikatnya masih ada, tetapi tidak bisa lagi memutuskan syarat kerja. Belum lagi adanya potensi pelanggaran dalam Pasal 1320 KUHPerdata yaitu syarat sah perjanjian, khususnya dalam syarat Kesepakatan Para Pihak, Dimana kesepakatan para pihak tersebut harus lahir dari kehendak para pihak tanpa ada unsur kekhilafan, paksaan, ataupun penipuan. Jika hal seperti ini terjadi di PLN Group, bukan tidak mungkin akan diterapkan di group-group yang lain.

Semangat dalam perundingan PKB mustinya adalah perbaikan, “More or Equal”. Tetapi kali ini dibayangi dengan penurunan. Perundingan kali ini dilakukan untuk mengakomodir Perdir 30. Padahal di dalam Perdir 30 tersebut terdapat sejumlah hal yang kualitasnya lebih rendah jika dibandingkan dengan apa yang telah di dapat oleh PT Indonesia Power.

Pegawai PT Indonesia Power mendukung penuh tim perunding serikat pekerja. Mereka tidak mau benefit yang selama ini didapatkan akan diturunkan. Dukungan itu dilakukan dengan membuat status serentak di media sosial dengan poster bertuliskan “We Support PPIP in Collective Bargaining Agreement! More or Equal.” Dengan tagar #WeStandWithPPIP.

Dukungan itu menjadi bukti, perundingan ini dikawal oleh ribuan anggota PPIP yang tersebar di berbagai daerah. Dan tidak hanya itu, Serikat Pekerja dan Pekerja yang lain pun juga mencermati apa yang terjadi di PLN Group. Mereka tidak ingin apa yang patut diduga sebagai “union busting gaya baru” ini sama juga terjadi tempat yang lain.

English version, below!

PPIP Suspects of New Style of Union Busting in the 2022-2023 CBA Addendum Negotiation

A new version of union busting. It only right to name the situation as a new version or new style of union busting. The situation in question is the addendum of Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) negotiation in PT Indonesia Power. If union busting was done by “removing” union leaders, now, by ‘removing’ the role and authority of union.

Normally, CBA in PT Indonesia Power will end on December 2023. However, on November11, 2022, the company requested an addendum to the CBA to be negotiated. The company sent a letter to the union for the request. Upon the request, the union replied on November 15, 2022 that the union agreed to prepare a revised CBA and appoint a negotiator. On November 30, the union and the company submitted their version of CBA revised draft.

The negotiation is scheduled to be held in Semarang on 1 to 2 December 2022. Then, it was continued in Bogor on 5 – 7 November .

Why addendum? It was started when PT PLN (Persero) issued a new policy of assigning their workers to work in their sub-holding companies. For this, PT PLN stated that the compensation (remuneration and benefits) for the workers who are assigned to the subholdings will not be lower than the compensation for workers who are assigned to the holding companies in order to ensure the implementation, sub holding companies must ratify PT PLN’s CBA. Hopefully, this will guarantee equality of workers’ rights between PT PLN (Persero) workers who are assigned to sub holding companies with the ones who are assigned to holding companies.

For PPIP, the requirement to ratify PT PLN’s CBA is seen as PT PLN enforces some rules to PPIP. Whereas, although under the same group, PT PLN and PT PPIP has its own distinct regulation. On the other hand, PT PLN does not consider the benefits that are already applicable in its subsidiaries, such as PT Indonesia Power. If PT Indonesia Power, then, follows the new policy imposed by PT PLN, there will be benefit loss or decrease in PT Indonesia Power.

What PT PLN should have done is to do an initial mapping. From the mapping, PT PLN would find out which benefit is higher then it would be the base line for systemic change. To follow the standards set by the mother company, there will be decrease in benefit, as the benefit in the subsidiaries are better than in the mother company, especially in PT Indonesia Power and PT PJB.

To hold a negotiation, both parties must be on an equal position. A negotiation must not be enforced. PPIP has the right to diasagree to the new benefit that would be lower than the benefit they received before the new policy. The poblem is mother company has a pressure power. They holds the veto over its subsidiaries Budget Workplan (Rencana Kerja Anggaran/RKA). The Budget Plan includes payrolls, operational cost, and many other item budgets. PT PLN, the mother company, holds the right to cut the payroll item in the Budget plan of its subsidiaries. If that should happen, PT Indonesia Power as a subsidiary of PT PLN will not be able to do anything. It means, whatever is agreed in the CBA of PT Indonesia Power will not be implemented.

If that happens, is it a coercion? A coercion to ratify PT PLN’s CBA is a union busting, a new version. The union still exists, but is no longer able to negotiate the requirement. There is also a potential violation of article 1320 of the Civil Code on the conditions that are required for the validity of agreements, specifically on the condition of the parties in agreement. There must be consent of the individuals who are bound thereby, meaning no coercion nor fraud; capacity to conclude an agreement, a specific subject, and an admissible cause. Should this happen in PLN Group, other companies will follow.

The spirit of a CBA negotiation is improvement, to be “More or Equal”. However, this time, it leads to a deterioration. The negotiation is done to accomodate the Director Regulation No. 30. Although in that regulation, there are lower qualities of benefits compared to what is applicable in PT Indonesia Power currently.

PT Indonesia Power workers support the union’s negotiation team. They do not want to lose the benefits that they have been having. The support is expressed in a social media simultaneous status with a poster of “We Support PPIP in Collective Bargaining Agreement! More or Equal,” and a hashtag #WeStandWithPPIP.

The support proves that this negotiation will be monitored by thousands of PPIP members all over Indonesia. In addition to that, union and other workers are scrutinizing what is happening in PT PLN Group. They do not want what is suspected as a new style of union busting to happen in other workplace, in or outside PLN Group.

The Adverse Impact of Privatization on Jakarta Citizen and Water Sector Workers

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Instead of giving good impact, privatization has adverse impacts on the workers and citizen. In the first five years of water privatization in Jakarta, the price of water increased by tenfold. The price of water in Jakarta, at that time, was the most expensive in Southeast Asia. On the other hand, during the same period, there was not any increase in the number of new consumers in Jakarta. Meanwhile, there have had been labor disputes in the company. The dispute was brought to the Industrial Relation Court. Both facts were revealed by the  reasearch on the potential adverse impacts of the termination of privatization agreement between PDAM and its partners on water sector workers in Jakarta.

As it is known, the water privatization agreement in Jakarta that was signed in 1998 will end on February 1, 2023. However, in practice, there are several problems arose from that agreement termination. Some problems were already there even before the termination.

Since the beginning, the privatization agreement bear so many questions. There are doubts that the privatization was actually the answers to different problems faced by water sector: the quality, effectivity, and efficiency. This is understandable as since the beginning, the water privatization agreement in Jakarta was dominated by global capitalism interest due to multi-dimensional crisis hit Indonesia at the end of the nineties. 

Jakarta water privatization is considered unprocedural. The process also did not meet the precondition for a privatization to succeed, i.e. to benefit from the market to resolve the efficiency problem in public service sector. The water privatization contract in Jakarta also did not go through open bidding (it was more like a direct appointment which is laden with nepotism and corruption) and was not preceded by a systematic due diligence process to determine rational target.

A number of critics and lawsuits accompanied the privatization project. The critics and mainly concerned with the low quality of the service delivered to the consumers and also the high price. The study conducted by Amrta Institute for Water found that the water tariff applicable in Jakarta has increased tenfold and became the highest in Southeast Asia. The high price is suspected to be the cause of no increase in the number of new consumer in Jakarta.

In addition to economic problem, water privatization in Jakarta also failed to improve the quality of service the company provided. For example, media reported that there has been a decline on water quality delivered to the consumers. It reported that in the mid 1999 to 2001 about 8.5% water provided by PAM di Jakarta and cities around Jakarta was not drinkable and did not meet the standard of physical and chemical quality.

This study shows that there has not been any significant change in terms of water quality compared to before the privatization. A statistical data supports the finding. Up to December 2013, PAM Jaya received more than 53,000 complaints related to service. Out of that number, 74% was related to the dysfunctional water tap. PAM Jaya alrs recorded that there have been high number of leaks, around 42% (from the target of 38% only). New service scope is 60% (from the target of 66%), and water pressure (the amount of water that is received by consumers) is also under 50% (from the target of 100%).

A number of labor disputes occured during the first four to five years of the contract. The most prominent case is the remuneration problem. The amount of retirement fund given by partner company to workers who worked directly to them is different from the one given to PAM Jaya’s wokers whose status was assigned to work at the partner company (seconded). There three cases which ended up in the Industrial Relation Court (PHI). Those are: Case of Maisril et. al. (4 persons) 2014-2016, Ponimin et. al. (1,055 persons) 2008-2009, and Dondi Syahtriandi (2011-2015).

On February 1, 2023, the agreement or contract of privatization will end. However, there is a scepticism about whether or not the termination of privatization agreement on February 1, 2023 means that PAM Jaya will be remunicipalized: the return of the control over management and service of water to the hands of the public via the regional/provincial government.

A number of newly found facts show the tendency of new privatization in the form of unbundling of water service supply chain in Jakarta. A series of MoUs have been signed by representatives of different ministries witht the Governor of Jakarta. In October 2022, the new agreement on water production management was signed.

Some big private companies including the private company that previously was in the contract with PAM Jaya, are in the offer exchange of water privatization bidding in Jakarta and cities around Jakarta. There have been some questions about the transition process. The company claims that it has established a transition team as mandated by a clause in the privatization agreement of 1998/2001. However, there is not any valid information related to the composition of the transition team.

In order for the transition process to be smooth, there has to be improvement of inter-agency communication and between stakeholders. The problem with availability of communication media must also be handled seriously. The interviewed informan stated that there needs to be a responsive actions from the government side to ensure that the transition team is valid, representative, and work tranparently.

In addition to that, there are a number of potential labor problems arise during the transition period and before the end of the agreement on February 1, 2023. If the problems are left unattended and poorly handled, there is a possibility for legal disputes to emerge. The uncertainty will disrupt productivity and performance of water service in Jakarta which at the end, will violate the rights of the citizen overn quality public service.

There are at least four potential problems emerge during the transition period and after the the privatization agreement ends. First, a problem related to employment status. The termination of privatization agreement will have a concrete impact on the workers’ employment status in both partner companies. Although clause number 32.12 of the collective agreement  guarantees that workers in both partner companies can be recruited by PAM Jaya. Workers said that they had been asked to fill a questionaire and to sign a letter that they agreed to work in PAM Jaya. There are two clauses in the statement letter that workers find unclear. Those clauses are related to their employement status at PAM Jaya: first, a clause that said that workers are agree to be a permanent or contract workers at PAM Jaya; and second, workers must agree to participate in the recruitment process to able to work at PAM Jaya.

Both problems have raised a number of questions: for previously permanent workers at hired by a private companye, will they be contract workers in PAM Jaya later after the termination of privatization agreement? If workers must participate in the recritment process, does it mean that there are possibilities that they fail in the recruitment process? What will the consequence be?

The second problem is related to job loss compensation. The clause number 32.12 of the collective agreement implies that PAM Jaya has a prerogrative right to recruit workers and/or not after the collective agreement is no longer applicable. The question is what will happen to workers who are not recruited by PAM Jaya but already resign from the partner company?

A legal issue will arise, will workers be terminated/fired or considered as resignation? Who will be responsible to pay the compensation to the concerned workers; PAM Jaya or the partner company?

Third, the seconded workers. The seconded workers are in an uncertain situation. The Clause number 32.12 of the collective agreement says “All parties agreed that this the contact of Seconded Workers will end automatically with the change of employment status.”

Refering to that clause, the contract of seconded workers will automatically end exactly when the collective agreement expired. However, there is not any further explanation on how will the change of employement status for seconded workers be carried out: will they be automatically return to their original position at PAM Jaya just like before they were assigned to work at the partner company? Or, will they have new position and duties? How will the transition be? Those questions are left unanswered.

Next, the fourth, the deficit of human resources and its impact on the performance of public service. Based on BPS data in 2020, the number of water PAM Jaya workers is approximately 910,000,21, while the number of water sector workers in Jakarta up to 2020 is 2,200.

By assuming that the growth of water sector consumers is about 0.7%-0.9% per year, the ration of workers in Jakarta to the number of customers is 1: 410. That means each worker must provide a service to 410 customers (which mostly are households, companies, etc.).The deficit of human resources bears a big problem. Statistically, the number of workers in their retirement age is also significant. This matter must be handled seriously and must be included in the deliberation of transition team.

Unfortunately, although union existence in water sector in Jakarta is acknowledged by the company, however, workers are relatively excluded from the transition process. The communication with management were initiated by the union, not by the company. In the context of social dialogue, this situation hinders the possibilities of challenge solving in the win-win solution.

The explanation above is the summary of a research initiated by the Public Service International (PSI), a global union federation in public sector. The research was conducted to ensure the protection and fulfilment of water sector workers in Jakarta who are impacted by the remunicipalization process what will take place on February 1, 2023.

The reseach lasted for three months, from end of August to end of October 2022. The research objective is to support the struggle for equal rights to quality public service by fighting for the fundamental rights of the workers. Included in the research the socio-political context of Indonesia’s labor policies; identification of problems in fulfillment and protection of workers rights and union rights resulted from remunicipalization process of water company in Jakarta, and provided recommendations for PSI the take precautious steps in advocating the workers rights and union’s rights in the process of remunicipalization of water in Jakarta.

On 25 November 2022, 16 people representing SP PDAM Jakarta, Sekar Aetra and Sekar Palyja, gathered to launch the report and discuss further input for strategic actions.

Laporan RisetDownload
Research Report in EnglishDownload

Konsolidasi TAD PLN SERBUK Indonesia:Berserikat! Kuat! Bermartabat!

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SERBUK Indonesia menggelar Konsolidasi Nasional Tenaga Alih Daya (TAD) PLN, pada Hari Sabtu, 12 November yang lalu, di Aula Malioboro Inn, Laweyan, Surakarta, Jawa Tengah. Konsolidasi anggota ini dimaksudkan untuk mempererat solidaritas, memperkokoh perkokoh barisan, dan mengasah daya juang.

Hadir dalam kegiatan ini perwakilan dari Serikat Buruh Anggota (SBA) SERBUK Indonesia dari sektor ketenagalistrikan, seperti Serikat Pekerja Listrik Area Magelang (SPLAM), Serikat Pekerja Listrik Area Banyuwangi (SPLAB), SPL. HPI Klaten, SPLAS Solo, dan beberapa perwakilan lainnya.

Dinamika kebijakan di PT. PLN menjadi perhatian serius SERBUK Indonesia, khususnya yang berpengaruh kepada tenaga alih daya. Jangan sampai kebijakan yang merugikan TAD PLN gagal dimitigasi, yang ujung-ujungnya membuat TAD PLN menderita. Seperti akhir-akhir ini, diterbitkannya Edaran Direksi 019./DIR/2022 tentang Standar Prosedur Pengelolaan Tenaga Alih Daya, surat edaran ini jika tidak ditolak akan membuat TAD PLN kehilangan jaminan keberlangsungan kerja dan berpotensi mengurangi pendapatan TAD.

Dalam konsolidasi ini, SERBUK Indonesia melakukan kajian secara mendalam, utamanya tentang bagaimana latar belakangnya sampai edaran tersebut muncul. Dalam diskusi yang panjang selama konsolidasi, akhirnya forum konsolidasi mendapatkan kesimpulan bahwa, edaran tersebut memang dimaksudkan untuk memangkas biaya beban tenaga kerja untuk dialihkan kepada pembiayaan pembelian tenaga listrik yang terus membengkak. Skema Take or Pay (TOP) dalam Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) antara PLN dengan Pembangkit Listrik Swasta, membuat PLN harus membeli semua energi listrik yang dihasilkan oleh pembangkit yang dimiliki perusahaan swasta tersebut, meskipun tenaga listrik tersebut tidak dipakai.

Hal itu tentu saja membebani keuangan PLN, karena listrik yang sudah dibeli tidak berhasil dijual karena laju konsumsi listrik secara nasional belum sebanding dengan kecepatan penambahan produksi tenaga listrik. Ujung-ujungnya terjadi over kapasitas, bahkan di akhir tahun 2022 ini kelebihan pasokan listrik diperkiran mencapai 61%. Oleh karena itu PLN harus melakukan efisiensi.

Pengurangan biaya tenaga kerja lazim ditempuh oleh perusahaan-perusahan untuk menyehatkan keuangan perusahaan, meskipun problematikanya bukan pada tenaga kerjanya. Seperti di PLN kesalahan terbesarnya adalah pada tata kelola keuangaan utamanya kegagalan menentukan fokus investasi, tapi mengapa TAD yang harus menjadi korban? Begitu lah pertanyaan besar dari para peserta konsolidasi. Dan mereka sepakat TAD atau para pekerja yang berada di garis depan industri kelistrikan nasional jangan sampai menjadi korban. Jangan sampai TAD kembali diupah seperti jaman Koperlis, begitu kata salah satu peserta.

Di akhir sesi rencana tindak lanjut, para peserta konsolidasi berhasil merumuskan strategi dan taktik untuk menghadang tiap-tiap kebijakan yang akan merugikan TAD. Dua poin besar dari rumusan strategi dan taktik tersebut adalah densitas dan kapasitas serikat buruh. Tanpa jumlah keanggotan yang mayoritas di Tenaga Alih Daya PLN dan kapasitas personil serikat buruh yang prima, jangan berharap TAD PLN bisa memenangkan agenda-agendanya.

Preparing to Face Workplace Dispute Settlement, Five Unions Parcitipated in Advocacy Training

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Advocacy literally means mentoring support, suggestion, and defense. In the world of employment, advocacy is an activity or a series of activities in the form of suggestion, mentoring, statement of defense by union for its members or organizaton in response to a situation or problem.

It is very important for unions to have an advocacy skill, especially because advocacy is very critical to unions. In an employment relation, there is always a possibility for a ‘dispute’.

That is the backgroung of five unions participating in an advocacy training. The training titled “Developing Organising Strategy “Organiser’s Skills on Labour Laws and Dispute Settlement” located in 5G Resort, Bogor, on 7 – 10 November 2022. The five unions are: SPEE FSPMI, SP PLN, SP PPIP, SP PJB and SP SERBUK.

Suherman, one of the resource persons, explained that the first session of the training would discuss labor law and regulations in Indonesia in relation to industrial dispute settlement. The session also discussed the Basics of Labor Laws and the implementing and supporting regulations. Case studies were also included in the discussion. Along with Suherman, Mahfud Siddik and Aep Rianandar from Advocacy Team of the SPEE-FSPMI supporting this training as resource person.

Disputes between workers and employers basically happen with or without a violation of law that precedes. If a law violation precedes a dispute, there are several factors involved. Those factors are, among others, different understanding on labor law implementation (conflict of rights), a discriminative treatment by employer to workers; or, employers who do not fully understand the role and function of trade unions as a bagaining institution and workers’ representative.

Workplace dispute is avoidable. However, sometimes it is unavoidable due to several factors. First, a unilateral decision on sanction imposed by the employer regardless of the agreed regulation applicable in the company. The company only considers workers as a factor or production and are oriented to profit only (prioritize productivity). Second, failed negotiation as an effort to solve a problem due to bad and ineffective communication; and third, no recognizition for union as the institution that represents the workers in that workplace.

The next session discussed bipartite and mediation as parts of workplace dispute settlement. A dispute must be settled/negotiated between the trade union and management. After the trade union and management agree on the disputed matter, both will create a Collective Agreement. If the negotiation failed, both will go to mediation.

The session invited participants to do a mediation simulation. Participants were divided into two groups. One group played the role of the employers, the other the trade union/workers. The case used in the simulation was demotion of a worker accompanied by decrease in wage.

The simulation went well and was very interesting. Each group had a role, different problems, responses and answers. The session used undated legal terms and legal arguments.

The seminar about Understanding Dispute Settlement in the Industrial Relation Court (PHI) was delivered by Aep Risnandar. The seminar was followed by a simulation of a court session in the Industrial Relation Court (PHI).

In this session, participants acted like they were in a court session. They also tried to formulate their lawsuit, answer from the defendant, second declaration (replik), final reply from the defendant (duplik), provide evidences (documents and witnesses), conclusion, and final statement.

It is hoped that the training will improve the labor organisers’ knowledge and skills on Indonesian labor law and on how to do advocacy on workers’ rights vioilation in their respective workplaces in addition, organizers would be able to use their skill and knowledge to develop their organization’s organizing strategies.