Garuda crew back down on strike threat<\/p>\n
Ridwan Max Sijabat and ID Nugroho, The Jakarta Post\/Jakarta\/Surabaya<\/p>\n
Garuda Indonesia cabin crew called off their planned strike on
\nFriday despite no deal being struck with the airline's
\nmanagement.<\/p>\n
The Association of Garuda Cabin Crew (Ikagi) announced the
\ncancellation early on Friday after members serving domestic and
\nforeign flights ignored the call to strike.<\/p>\n
Jacqueline Pechler Langkay, a senior flight attendant, told
\nThe Jakarta Post that some cabin crew members were confused by
\nthe cancellation.<\/p>\n
\"We didn't know what was going on before Ikagi chairman
\nZainuddin Malik called off the strike at 4 a.m. Many flight
\nattendants were disappointed with the unilateral action when no
\ndeal had been reached with the management,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Neither Zainuddin nor Ikagi secretary-general Ario M. were
\navailable for comment on Friday.<\/p>\n
Reliable sources in Ikagi who requested anonymity said that
\nIkagi called off the strike upon the advice of Minister of
\nManpower and Transmigration Fahmi Idris, Minister of
\nTransportation Hatta Radjasa and State Minister of State
\nEnterprises Sugiharto in a marathon meeting late on Thursday.<\/p>\n
In Surabaya, a Garuda official offered dozens of journalists
\nfree flights to various destinations to prove that the threat of
\na strike would not affect the airline's operation.<\/p>\n
\"We are inviting some journalists on flights to see for
\nthemselves that our operations are not affected,\" said Tri Putra
\nIndra Sakti, manager of Garuda's Visual Communication and
\nMultimedia.<\/p>\n
More than 2,300 flight attendants planned to strike from
\nFriday through Sunday, after demands for a pay rise and a special
\ncollective labor agreement (PKB) were rejected. The move won
\nsupport from labor unions and the International Transport
\nFederation (ITF).<\/p>\n
Garuda spokesman Pudjobroto said that all Garuda flights on
\nFriday ran on schedule and were fully staffed.<\/p>\n
\"All 100 flights scheduled for Friday took off on time,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
He insisted that the management gave no concession to cabin
\ncrew and would go ahead with measures to help improve labor
\nconditions for all workers in the company.<\/p>\n
\"Long before today, the management was convinced that the
\nmajority of flight attendants would not heed the call to strike
\nbecause we were sure that all employees backed the management's
\nmeasures to improve labor conditions, including the revision of
\nthe remuneration system,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Pudjobroto and Tri Putra revealed that the Garuda management
\nhad hired foreign financial consultant Watson Wyatt to design a
\nstandard remuneration system.<\/p>\n
The company's clients include Malaysia Airlines, Cathay
\nPacific and Air New Zealand.<\/p>\n
Asked if the management would take any measures against those
\nbehind the planned strike, Pudjobroto said: \"We have our own
\ncompany rules and everything is stipulated in these regulations.\"<\/p>\n
ITF representative in Indonesia Hanafi Rustandi called Ikagi's
\ndecision to cancel the strike a bad precedent.<\/p>\n
\"We called on labor unions and the Indonesian government to
\nhelp find a wise settlement to industrial disputes between the
\nmanagement and the flight attendants, especially the level of
\nremuneration for flight attendants, which is far below standard,\"
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
Debt-ridden Garuda posted an operating loss of Rp 131 billion
\n(US$13.73 million) in the first quarter of 2005 compared to last
\nyear's Rp 74 billion losses.<\/p>\n
Garuda is $826.5 million in debt -- of which $522.8 million is
\nowed to European creditors and $109.9 million to Bank Mandiri.<\/p>",
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