Bus crew threaten to block streets<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Despite calls for an end to their strike, some
\n1,500 drivers and conductors of state bus company Perum PPD
\ncontinued their protest on Thursday and threatened to disrupt
\ntraffic in the city to force the government to bow to their
\ndemands.<\/p>\n
The bus crews, who staged a sit-in at the PPD head office in
\nCawang, East Jakarta on Thursday, said they would drive through
\nthe city on Friday and abandon their buses on main streets to
\nattract the public's attention.<\/p>\n
\"We have agreed to drive around the city. Afterwards, we will
\nleave all the buses on the streets and march to the Ministry of
\nTransportation to meet the government officials concerned,\" a
\ndriver, A. Sajuri, said to applause from his colleagues.<\/p>\n
He said the firm's employees would be emulating truck drivers
\nin France, who lined up their vehicles on roads in a strike last
\nyear.<\/p>\n
\"Such a demonstration will be very effective,\" he said.<\/p>\n
With no PPD buses on the streets, thousands of people were
\nleft stranded at bus stops across Greater Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Makmur Ginting, secretary of the Indonesian Prosperous Labor
\nUnion (SBSI)'s PPD chapter, said such a move looked unavoidable
\neven though the firm's employees knew it would cause traffic
\nchaos in the city.<\/p>\n
\"We can't stop them ... as they are very disappointed with the
\nmanagement and the government, both of which have yet to respond
\nto their demands,\" he said, adding that the move was a last
\nresort that they had been forced to take.<\/p>\n
Makmur insisted that the management should first pay the
\nemployees' wages for February and March, together with their
\nallowances.<\/p>\n
\"We are hungry and our families are also hungry because our
\nwages for the last two months haven't been paid,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He further said that the workers were demanding that the
\ngovernment revamp the company by replacing corrupt executives and
\nimproving the remuneration system.<\/p>\n
\"The company will continue to suffer losses if the corrupt
\nofficials keep their jobs. We want the government to pick a new
\nmanagement team from among the workers because we are the ones
\nwho know how to solve the company's problems,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He also said the government should investigate rampant
\ncorruption among company management, whom he accused of misusing
\nthe huge amounts of money collected from workers to pay monthly
\npremiums under the social insurance program.<\/p>\n
\"The management has collected a total of Rp 2 billion over the
\npast seven months, but the money has yet to reach PT Jamsostek,\"
\nhe said, referring to the state social insurance company.<\/p>\n
Undecided<\/p>\n
Separately, Minister of Finance Prijadi Praptosuhardjo said
\nthe government remained undecided whether to dissolve or
\nrestructure the bus company.<\/p>\n
Speaking at a press briefing following a meeting of economic
\nministers presided over by Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri
\non Thursday, Prijadi said the government would appoint an
\nindependent consultant to assess the feasibility of the
\nalternatives available to the government.<\/p>\n
\"The independent consultant will decide whether PPD can
\ncontinue or should be wound up. We also have to make sure that if
\nit continues operating, it can afford to pay its mounting debts,\"
\nPrijadi said.<\/p>\n
PPD has been enjoying a government subsidy to date, but as the
\nfinancial crisis continues to cripple the country, the government
\nis reconsidering its assistance.<\/p>\n
Prijadi said a restructuring of the company would greatly
\ndepend on the government's cash flow situation.<\/p>\n
Minister of Transportation and Telecommunication Agum Gumelar,
\nwho also spoke at the media conference, told a different story.
\nHe said the government had decided to restructure the company.<\/p>\n
\"At the previous economics meeting with the Vice President, we
\ndecided to restructure the company and not to liquidate it,\" Agum
\nsaid, adding that the program was already underway.<\/p>\n
Coordinating Minister for the Economy Rizal Ramli at the same
\npress briefing denied the striking bus employees' claim that they
\nhad not been paid for the last two months.<\/p>\n
\"The government has prepared funds to pay the drivers' wages
\nduring the process, so please stop the strike. It's not true that
\nwe did not pay the salaries,\" Rizal said. (dja\/rms)<\/p>",
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