HI management, workers fail to reach agreement<\/p>\n
Bambang Nurbianto, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Forty-one years since it was officially opened by Indonesia's
\nfirst President Sukarno, Hotel Indonesia, along with the adjacent
\nInna Wisata Hotel, was closed down on Friday following a new
\nprivate investor's decision to renovate both buildings to enable
\nthem to compete with other hotels in the area.<\/p>\n
The takeover of both hotels by PT Cipta Karya Bumi Indah
\n(CKBI), a subsidiary of cigarette giant Djarum group, caused
\naround 1,300 employees to lose their jobs.<\/p>\n
However, as of 8:30 p.m., many of them were still gathered in
\nthe Hotel Indonesia Bali Room, accompanied by Bandung-based PT
\nDirgantara Indonesia workers, activists and political party
\nsupporters, who were present to prepare themselves for Saturday's
\ncommemoration of World Labor Day.<\/p>\n
They were observed playing chess and cards, chatting and
\nsleeping. Some slept in a musholla (prayer room) at the Inna
\nWisata Hotel and along the sidewalk in front.<\/p>\n
\"All we want is to work again. Many of us are old already and
\nwe can't compete against young people,\" complained Hasanuddin, a
\n43-year-old technician from Hotel Indonesia engineering
\ndepartment. \"I hope the new management can employ us -- I don't
\ncare in which unit. There will be between 8,000 and 10,000 new
\njobs -- it would be impossible that there'd be nothing suitable
\nfor me.\"<\/p>\n
The father of three claimed that he would receive Rp 41
\nmillion (US$4,740) in severance pay for his 21 years of service
\nat the hotel.<\/p>\n
The workers were given a deadline of 10 p.m. Friday but the
\nJakarta Police were persuaded by legislator Rekso Ageng Herman of
\nthe Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) to delay any
\naction until Saturday to allow the World Labor Day commemoration
\nparticipants a chance to rest.<\/p>\n
Earlier, Herman met with the two hotels' former management, PT
\nHotel Indonesia Natour (HIN), Hotel Indonesia Workers' Union
\nrepresentatives and Jakarta Manpower Agency head Ali Zubeir.<\/p>\n
The meeting ended in deadlock as PT HIN insisted on dismissing
\nthe employees while the latter demanded to be reemployed after
\nthe renovation finished.<\/p>\n
According to Herman, PT HIN had violated Article 148 of Law
\nNo. 13\/2003 on manpower for not informing the relevant agency
\nabout the hotel closures.<\/p>\n
Ali confirmed that his agency had not received any written
\nnotification from PT HIN about the closure of the hotels.<\/p>\n
Workers' lawyer John Sirait said that the workers' demand to
\nbe reemployed was realistic.<\/p>\n
\"There will be around 10,000 jobs created after the
\nrenovation: Why doesn't the new management employ the hotels'
\nformer workers?\" he asked The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
Under a 30-year build-operate-transfer (BOT) scheme, PT CKBI,
\nwhich will invest US$150 million, will demolish the Inna Wisata
\nHotel to make way for a supermall and will return Hotel Indonesia
\nto its original design before alterations made following
\nrenovation back in 1974.<\/p>\n
PT HIN President Director A.M. Suseto emphasized that his
\ncompany did not have the final say on the recruitment process as
\nthe new management would have its own standards.<\/p>\n
On the sidelines of the meeting, Herman held closed-door talks
\nwith Suseto and other members of PT HIN management. They refused
\nto reveal the result of the talks, only saying that
\nrepresentatives of the disputed parties would meet again next
\nTuesday to seek an amicable solution.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/hi-management-workers-fail-to-reach-agreement-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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