Fired workers seek assistance from LBH<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Eleven employees of the Jakarta branch of the
\nstate-owned PT Indah Karya have sought help from the Jakarta
\nLegal Aid Institute (LBH) over their dismissal.<\/p>\n
The employees were relieved of their jobs on Aug. 21 on the
\ngrounds that the company has been continuously suffering losses
\nand the sacking was in line with the management's policy of
\nrationalization, the Jakarta office of the institute said in a
\nstatement on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The company distributed severance pay to some of the dismissed
\nworkers. However, a problem arose when the company gave severance
\npay to some employees whose wages were below the regional minimum
\nwage regulated by the Ministry of Manpower.<\/p>\n
The amount of severance pay the company's management gave to
\nthese employees was based on their basic wages, and not based on
\nthe component of the wage total, as regulated by the manpower
\nministry.<\/p>\n
PT Indah Karya is one of the state-owned companies dealing
\nwith providing consultancy services for geotechnical planning and
\nmapping, which is under the auspices of the Ministry of Public
\nWorks. The Ministry could not be reached for comments yesterday.<\/p>\n
The company's headquarters is located on Jl. H. Juanda in
\nBandung, with branches in Jakarta, Surabaya, Ujungpandang and
\nMedan.<\/p>\n
Last month, the company, on the grounds of conducting a
\nrationalization program, dismissed no less than 84 of its
\nemployees, including 11 at the Jakarta branch, 10 at the
\nUjungpandang branch, eight in Surabaya and 55 at its Medan
\noffices.<\/p>\n
The Jakarta branch of LBH said up to now, no solution to the
\nproblem has been reached in favor of the sacked workers. The mass
\ndismissal has further spawned prolonged restlessness among the
\nother workers still being employed by the company at its
\nheadquarters, as well as in its branches.<\/p>\n
One of the dismissed employees in the Medan office has
\nreportedly brought his case to the National Commission on Human
\nRights.<\/p>\n
The nucleus of the problem besetting the company's employees
\nbegan when the board of directors issued a set of regulations on
\nMay 2, 1994 that put employees at a disadvantage.<\/p>\n
One of the regulations has given rise to deep concern and
\nuneasiness on the part of the employees, because it contains
\ndrastic changes to the status of an employee, thus reducing the
\nrights of the workers.<\/p>\n
Before the new regulations were announced, all employees were
\nentitled to medical allowance, pension pay and other fringe
\nbenefits.<\/p>\n
Under the new regulations, all these fringe benefits were
\ndispensed with, much to the chagrin and disappointment of the
\nemployees.<\/p>\n
The dismissed employees also questioned another regulation
\nwhich requires certain employees to sign a working agreement
\nevery year if they are still needed by the company, despite the
\nfact that the workers were not hired on a contractual basis.<\/p>\n
Under this regulation, the management can arbitrarily dismiss
\nany worker at any time, regardless of how long they have been
\nworking at the company.<\/p>\n
Several of the dismissed employees had been working for the
\ncompany for more than 15 years. (bas)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/fired-workers-seek-assistance-from-lbh-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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