Bandung court favors PTDI workers<\/p>\n
Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post, Bandung<\/p>\n
A panel of judges at the Bandung District Court ruled on
\nWednesday in favor of the union at aircraft manufacturer PT
\nDirgantara Indonesia (PTDI), which had filed a suit to stop the
\nfiring of more than 6,000 employees.<\/p>\n
The three defendants in the suit were the management of the
\nailing company, the Office of the State Minister for State
\nEnterprises and the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA).<\/p>\n
Presiding judge Marni Emmy Mustofa said in her decision that
\nthe extraordinary shareholders meeting held by the three
\ndefendants in August last year, which recommended the dismissal
\nof more than 6,000 employees, was illegal.<\/p>\n
Only three of the company's directors attended the meeting,
\nwhile regulations require such extraordinary meetings be attended
\nby all five directors of a company, she said.<\/p>\n
The two directors absent from the meeting were Puji Sulaksono
\nand Budi S. Taufik.<\/p>\n
They refused to attend the meeting because they were informed
\nof it via short messaging service (SMS) rather than by an
\nofficial written invitation, according to the presiding judge.<\/p>\n
In the decision, the panel of judges ordered the management to
\nrestore the rights of the dismissed employees and allow them to
\nreturn to work at the company.<\/p>\n
The court also ordered the PTDI management to establish a
\njoint restructuring commission to look into ways to save the
\ncompany from its financial woes. This commission should comprise
\nrepresentatives from IBRA, the union, the Office of the State
\nMinister for State Enterprises and independent parties.<\/p>\n
More than 3,000 employees of the company and their families,
\nwho followed the proceedings outside the courthouse, lauded the
\ndecision.<\/p>\n
The panel of judges ordered the defendants to pay a fine Rp 60
\nmillion (US$7,500). They also urged police and prosecutors to
\ninvestigate alleged corruption at the company.<\/p>\n
In its decision, the court said the employees were fired to
\nshift blame for the company's financial troubles from the
\nmanagement of the company to the employees.<\/p>\n
The judges also said the company would not have gone bankrupt
\nif there was no mismanagement at the company.<\/p>\n
However, there are questions as to whether the company, which
\nis struggling to repay debts, will be financially able to bring
\nback the workers.<\/p>\n
This situation began last year when the management, with the
\ngovernment's approval, dismissed 6,600 of the company's 9,350
\nemployees. The workers were laid off after the company was unable
\nto repay its debts to local and international creditors.<\/p>\n
The government released US$5 million for severance and service
\npay for the dismissed workers, who rejected the payments and
\ndemanded their jobs back.<\/p>\n
They said the company's financial problems were not caused by
\noverstaffing, but by a corrupt and inefficient management that
\nhad cost the company between Rp 2 trillion and Rp 3 trillion
\nsince 1997.<\/p>\n
M. Lutfi Hakim, the lawyer for the defendants, said he would
\nappeal.<\/p>\n
The president director of PTDI, Edwin Soedarmo, said the
\nemployees would not be rehired. He said the Central Committee for
\nthe Settlement of Labor Disputes (P4P) had the ultimate authority
\nto rule on the case.<\/p>\n
The P4P has backed the dismissals.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/bandung-court-favors-ptdi-workers-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }