Sexual harassment at workplace (III)
ILO and KSBSI said they are willing to deal with sexual harassment at the workplace. What are they going to do?
The ILO was willing to provide training to create a system dealing with sexual harassment. Meanwhile, KSBSI promised to provide associates to advocate for the workers in efforts to settle the case.
The movement of Indonesian workers does get stronger. However, the issue of sexual harassment at the workplace still receives less attention. The issue is still new in the international domain. Yatini Sulistyowati, chairwoman of the equality commission of KSBSI, explained, “Our colleagues also concentrate on the obvious rights about wage and social security. And the issue of sexual harassment only emerges during negotiations of the joint working agreement. There have been no serious talks about this. We can just thank God when the issue is discussed. And when nobody talks about it, it’s not a problem. So, the problem is there. And when talking about international issues, sexual harassment is relatively new. It was discussed in 2012 at a meeting of ITUC, the International Trade Union Confederation, where KSBSI is a member.”
Two years ago, the Ministry of Manpower also issued a ministerial circular on the Guideline to Prevent Sexual Harassment at the Workplace. The guideline suggests that every factory shall settle sexual harassment cases by setting up an independent body. However, the guideline is always ignored because it has no umbrella to cover it. Yatini said again, “It’s important to include this as an article in the revision. The most important thing is to include it, so the guideline will have a legal umbrella and its quality can be increased as a ministerial decree. A ministerial decree will not only be a guideline but can also bind the company, both sides.”
For the time being, KSBSI encourages its members to include an article on sexual harassment in the Joint Working Agreement between employees and employers. In doing so, a sexual harassment case can, at least, be settled at the factory level. On the other side, the National Commission on Anti-Violence against Women keeps waging its guerilla war to campaign efforts in eradicating sexual harassment.
“Unfortunately, such a concept, when it is done quietly and circulated as a decision, frequently doesn’t work. So, Komnas Perempuan’s strategy is ‘let’s start a public discussion or debate, starting from a case and encouraging them to speak.’ So, whether the decision or Komnas Perempuan is available or not, people will finally consider a need to create and maintain it. That’s a reverse strategy we are going to try. We are not going to start from the formal one,” Komnas Perempuan Chairwoman Yuniyanti Chuzaifah explained.
Furthermore, Indonesian buyers shall get smarter when choosing a product. Again, Sutrisna from ILO’s Better Work program said, “It is surely needed. We need to take more concrete measures. It’s a kind of education that a buyer needs to be ethical. There should be deeper education, that is, not only export-oriented companies being under pressure, but also national companies if our buyers are to be more mature and ethical.”
This article is the final article on sexual harassment at workplace from a series of three in-depth articles written by Pebriansyah Ariefana and Guruh Dwi Riyanto of KBR68H and published on 6 May 2013. The article is part of the ILO’s media fellowship programme on gender and employment, jointly conducted in collaboration with the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) Jakarta and six selected leading, national mass media. The media fellowship programme was part of the campaign conducted by the ILO through its Access to Employment and Decent Work for Women Project, funded by the Australian Government.
The movement of Indonesian workers does get stronger. However, the issue of sexual harassment at the workplace still receives less attention. The issue is still new in the international domain. Yatini Sulistyowati, chairwoman of the equality commission of KSBSI, explained, “Our colleagues also concentrate on the obvious rights about wage and social security. And the issue of sexual harassment only emerges during negotiations of the joint working agreement. There have been no serious talks about this. We can just thank God when the issue is discussed. And when nobody talks about it, it’s not a problem. So, the problem is there. And when talking about international issues, sexual harassment is relatively new. It was discussed in 2012 at a meeting of ITUC, the International Trade Union Confederation, where KSBSI is a member.”
Two years ago, the Ministry of Manpower also issued a ministerial circular on the Guideline to Prevent Sexual Harassment at the Workplace. The guideline suggests that every factory shall settle sexual harassment cases by setting up an independent body.
Two years ago, the Ministry of Manpower also issued a ministerial circular on the Guideline to Prevent Sexual Harassment at the Workplace. The guideline suggests that every factory shall settle sexual harassment cases by setting up an independent body. However, the guideline is always ignored because it has no umbrella to cover it. Yatini said again, “It’s important to include this as an article in the revision. The most important thing is to include it, so the guideline will have a legal umbrella and its quality can be increased as a ministerial decree. A ministerial decree will not only be a guideline but can also bind the company, both sides.”
For the time being, KSBSI encourages its members to include an article on sexual harassment in the Joint Working Agreement between employees and employers. In doing so, a sexual harassment case can, at least, be settled at the factory level. On the other side, the National Commission on Anti-Violence against Women keeps waging its guerilla war to campaign efforts in eradicating sexual harassment.
“Unfortunately, such a concept, when it is done quietly and circulated as a decision, frequently doesn’t work. So, Komnas Perempuan’s strategy is ‘let’s start a public discussion or debate, starting from a case and encouraging them to speak.’ So, whether the decision or Komnas Perempuan is available or not, people will finally consider a need to create and maintain it. That’s a reverse strategy we are going to try. We are not going to start from the formal one,” Komnas Perempuan Chairwoman Yuniyanti Chuzaifah explained.
Furthermore, Indonesian buyers shall get smarter when choosing a product. Again, Sutrisna from ILO’s Better Work program said, “It is surely needed. We need to take more concrete measures. It’s a kind of education that a buyer needs to be ethical. There should be deeper education, that is, not only export-oriented companies being under pressure, but also national companies if our buyers are to be more mature and ethical.”
This article is the final article on sexual harassment at workplace from a series of three in-depth articles written by Pebriansyah Ariefana and Guruh Dwi Riyanto of KBR68H and published on 6 May 2013. The article is part of the ILO’s media fellowship programme on gender and employment, jointly conducted in collaboration with the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) Jakarta and six selected leading, national mass media. The media fellowship programme was part of the campaign conducted by the ILO through its Access to Employment and Decent Work for Women Project, funded by the Australian Government.