200 laid-off workers plead their case<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): More than 200 laid-off workers of Surakarta-
\nbased garment company PT Tyfountex Indonesia have traveled from
\nthe Central Java town to the capital to protest the company's
\nrefusal to rehire them.<\/p>\n
They went to the National Commission on Human Rights on
\nThursday to plead their case.<\/p>\n
Workers' spokeswoman Jumini said the Indonesian-Hong Kong
\njoint venture was refusing to back down on its decision. The firm
\nhas filed suit at the Jakarta High Administrative Court against a
\nthe Central Committee for the Settlement of Industrial Disputes
\n(P4P) of the Ministry of Manpower, which ordered the firm to
\nreemploy them.<\/p>\n
\"We asked the commission to remind judges of the court to give
\na fair decision,\" said Jumini, who claimed to be representing
\nabout 2,000 workers laid off from a workforce of about 8,000.<\/p>\n
The company has also failed to abide by the P4P's order to pay
\nback wages since August, she said. The workers' monthly wages
\nwere an average of Rp 160,000 (US$16).<\/p>\n
Clementino dos Reis Amaral, one of the commission members,
\nreceived the workers and promised to convey their demand to the
\nappropriate authorities.<\/p>\n
Jumini said the workers had visited the court before traveling
\nto the commission to urge swift handling of the case.<\/p>\n
She quoted the court's chief, Markus Lande, as saying the
\nhearing would start on Oct. 12.<\/p>\n
The workers arrived in the city by four buses on Wednesday and
\ndirectly went to the Ministry of Manpower to give support to P4P
\nin facing the lawsuit.<\/p>\n
They are staying at the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH)
\noffice on Jl. Diponegoro, Central Jakarta.<\/p>\n
The workers together with 500 other colleagues visited the
\nministry on Aug. 26 to complain about their dismissals, following
\na mass rally demanding a 15 percent increase in their wage and
\nmeal allowance in July.<\/p>\n
The protesters returned home after their demand was heeded.<\/p>\n
The company complained that the decision of P4P in favor of
\nthe dismissed workers was unfair.<\/p>\n
Tyfountex director Suwatna Djajasaputra said in September the
\ngovernment only favored the dismissed workers without considering
\nthe remaining 6,000 workers who were loyal to the company.<\/p>\n
About 500 workers who supported the company visited the
\nministry and demanded that Minister of Manpower Fahmi Idris veto
\nthe decision.<\/p>\n
But director general of industrial relations and labor
\nstandards, Syaufii Samsuddin, insisted the management should
\ncomply with the committee's decision because the manpower
\nminister had not overruled it.<\/p>\n
Jumini contended on Thursday that only a handful of workers
\nfrom production and nonproduction units were opposed to the laid-
\noff workers campaign.<\/p>\n
\"It's illogical if they reject us since we are struggling for
\nan increase in their wages,\" she said. (jun)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/200-laid-off-workers-plead-their-case-1447893297",
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