463 sugar factory workers lose jobs in South Kalimantan<\/p>\n
Yuliansyah, The Jakarta Post, Banjarmasin<\/p>\n
Some 463 workers at Pelaihari Sugar Company in Tanah Laut
\nregency, South Kalimantan, have lost their jobs without
\ncompensation after their once reputable firm was liquidated by
\nthe Office of the State Minister of State Enterprises last month.<\/p>\n
The workers have been out of work for three months since the
\ncompany ceased operations.<\/p>\n
\"So far, our fate is still unclear as the firm has not yet
\ngiven us an official explanation, or compensation,\" one of the
\nworkers said on Wednesday. \"The company leaders are not even in
\nthe office.\"<\/p>\n
The workers warned they would stage a demonstration if the
\ncompany did not offer them a solution immediately, saying that
\nthey depended on the company for their livelihood.<\/p>\n
Aside from rendering hundreds of workers jobless, the closure
\nof the sugar company also made children nearby the firm unable to
\ncontinue their studies as the schools, managed by the company,
\nwere also closed.<\/p>\n
If the local government doesn't take over the management of
\nthe only school in the area, the children will be unable to
\nstudy.<\/p>\n
The Pelaihari Sugar Company, owned PT Sentra Mas and PT
\nSilvatex and the central government, was liquidated on Oct. 5 as
\nit had suffered heavy financial losses since it was established
\nin 1985.<\/p>\n
No official figures are available. The company reportedly had
\na total debt of Rp 138.6 billion (US$15.4 million), and must pay
\nRp 11 billion in installments every year. Meanwhile, its assets
\nonly stood at Rp 70 billion.<\/p>\n
The firm had 40,000 hectares of sugar cane fields but managed
\nonly 7,000 hectares. Also, it was unable to produce high quality
\nsugar and failed to compete with sugar from outside the area as
\nwell as imported sugar.<\/p>\n
The last operator of the company was PT Sentra Mas.<\/p>\n
Members of the company's management have been transferred to a
\nnumber of state-owned plantation companies in Surabaya, East
\nJava; Semarang, Central Java; and Pontianak, West Kalimantan.<\/p>\n
Separately, the deputy chief of the South Kalimantan Manpower
\nand Transmigration office, Robby B. Mondigir, said his office had
\nheld talks with the Pelaihari Sugar Company's management, and the
\nlatter promised to pay the unpaid salaries and compensation for
\nthe workers.<\/p>\n
\"We will meet with the management of the factory to discuss
\nthe liquidation later this week,\" he said.<\/p>\n
According to him, he would ask the company's management to
\nprovide clarification about the firm's closure to the workers.<\/p>\n
\"We ask the workers to be patient,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He also said that the workers must look for other employment
\nfollowing the closure of the sugar company.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/463-sugar-factory-workers-lose-jobs-in-south-kalimantan-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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