Indonesia port workers stage rally, threaten strike

JAKARTA, April 8 (Reuters) - Hundreds of workers from Indonesia's state-run port firm, Pelindo, rallied at parliament on Tuesday, threatening to strike if lawmakers passed a new shipping law that would open up ports to the private sector.

Indonesia is a key global producer of commodities, minerals and energy and a strike could paralyse exports such as palm oil, coffee, coal, rubber and tin from Southeast Asia's top economy.

Pelindo, which employs more than 10,000 in 112 ports across the country, is the sole port operator in the world's biggest archipelago.

We will see if parliament passes the bill. If the government does not keep its promise, we will go on strike, said Asyhari, head of the workers' union at Pelindo in Medan, North Sumatra where the key palm oil-exporting port of Belawan is located.

Asyhari, who goes by one name like many Indonesians, said workers were concerned that the bill would mean job losses if private firms were allowed to operate ports.

Parliament is scheduled to have a plenary meeting on Tuesday to pass the bill into law. The shipping bill aims to improve the ports' infrastructure and open investments opportunities for local governments and local private companies.

It will also separate Pelindo's roles as regulator and operator.

Transport Minister Jusman Safii Djamal said the government had a contingency plan to assign government port officials to fill in for Pelindo workers if a strike took place.

In each region, we have a port administrator who will handle everything should the workers go on strike, Djamal told Reuters by telephone on Monday, without elaborating.

An official said operations at Tanjung Priok port in Jakarta, the country's biggest sea port, were normal on Tuesday despite hundreds of Pelindo workers joining the rally at parliament.

Pelindo workers are going to parliament, but services are going on without disruption, said Bobby R. Mamahit, chief of port administration at Tanjung Priok port, which handles 65 percent of Indonesia's export-import activities.

About 500 out of 800 Pelindo workers at Tanjung Priok were going to the rally at parliament, Hambar Wiyadi, a company spokesman said.

A strike could have a major impact on Indonesian trade, since 80 percent of exports and imports are conducted via sea ports.

In Belawan, one of the country's main ports for palm oil and rubber exports, activity was also normal, a port spokesman said.

Other key ports that are threatened by strike action include Riau province's Dumai port, another key port for Indonesian palm oil exports and crude oil, and South Sulawesi's Makassar port, the main port for cocoa exports, the Pelindo workers' union said.

Indonesia is the world's top producer of palm oil, the second-largest natural rubber producer and the world's third- and fourth-biggest producer of cocoa and coffee, respectively.

It is also Asia-Pacific's only OPEC member and a key exporter of liquefied natural gas and importer of oil products. (Reporting by Mita Valina Liem and Tyagita Silka, editing by Ed Davies)

Source: Reuters