IBRA balks at demand for higher severance payments<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA)
\nagain refused on Tuesday demands for higher severance payments
\nfor employees of the 38 closed banks, despite further protests.<\/p>\n
IBRA deputy chairman Eko S. Budianto said the government's
\ndecision to give the closed bank employees severance payments
\ndouble the amount stipulated in the Minister of Manpower Decree
\nNo. 3\/1996 was final.<\/p>\n
"We will not back off. There's no need to revise the decision.
\nIt applies to all of the bank employees," he told reporters at a
\njoint press conference with several members of the House of
\nRepresentatives Commission VIII on finance and the state budget.<\/p>\n
The government closed down 38 banks on March 13 as part of the
\nmassive restructuring in the country's messy banking industry.
\nThe closures have caused at least 17,000 bank workers to lose
\ntheir jobs.<\/p>\n
Based on the Minister of Manpower Decree, employees who worked
\nfor less than one year would receive one month's salary as
\nseverance pay, while those having worked for four years or longer
\nwould be entitled to 5 months' salary.<\/p>\n
In addition to that, the employees are also entitled to merit
\nallowances, particularly for those working for more than five
\nyears.<\/p>\n
IBRA said the severance payments given to the redundant
\nworkers would be double the compensation allowances stipulated in
\nthe Minister of Manpower Decree.<\/p>\n
But the employees have demanded that IBRA provide up to 10
\ntimes the amounts stipulated in the decree. They insisted the
\nthat agency put pressure on the bank owners to make up the
\ndifference in the increased severance payments.<\/p>\n
"We don't have the authority to do that," Eko said, adding
\nthat IBRA could only appeal to the bank owners to provide their
\nformer employees with extra payments in addition to the
\ngovernment severance allowance.<\/p>\n
He also said the government would not provide bailout cash for
\nthe bank owners to meet the severance pay demands.<\/p>\n
"If we provide the money then the people will think that we're
\nspoiling the conglomerates once again," he said, adding that it
\nwould be a bad precedent for other economic sectors which might
\nalso face layoffs.<\/p>\n
"But we're not policy makers. We're just executors (of the
\npolicies)," he said.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, about 700 employees of 10 closed banks marched from
\nthe Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency office on Jl. Jend.
\nSudirman to the Bank Indonesia building on Jl. MH Thamrin on
\nTuesday to demand a fair severance payment.<\/p>\n
The march, organized by the Indonesian Muslim Workers Union,
\nstarted at 11 a.m., jamming traffic along the city's main
\nstreets.<\/p>\n
Carrying banners and posters, the workers demanded a severance
\npayment of between six times and 10 times the government
\nallowance.<\/p>\n
They also demanded the government investigate the owners of
\nthe closed banks for illegally using the Central Bank's liquidity
\nfund, the workers' spokesman, Deni Danuri, said.<\/p>\n
"We will also reveal several ministers who are involved in
\nproviding loans which have become bad debts, worth trillions of
\nrupiah, if our demands are not fulfilled," said Deni, who is also
\nchairman of the newly established Banking Crisis Center.<\/p>\n
He said the workers complained to IBRA and visited bank owners
\nbut have received unsatisfactory responses.<\/p>\n
"We also reject an allegation by a lawyer for the owners,
\nSutan Remy Syahdeni, that we took data from the closed banks," he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
The protesters are from Bank Tata, Bank Bira, Bank Papan
\nSejahtera, Bank Orient, Bank Mashill, Bank Sewu, Bank Hastin,
\nBank Aspac, Bank Arya and Bank Dharmala.<\/p>\n
About 20 representatives of the workers were met by Bank
\nIndonesia director Aulia Pohan and lawyer for IBRA, Kemalsyah
\nSiregar, at the central bank building.<\/p>\n
In the meeting, the workers, the agency and the central bank
\nfinally agreed to invite owners of the 38 closed banks to discuss
\nthe severance payment on Thursday.<\/p>\n
The angered employees initially created difficulties for
\ndepositors in closed banks to withdraw their government
\nguaranteed money as they refused to verify depositors' accounts.<\/p>\n
IBRA's Eko, however, said many employees were now more
\ncooperative, with only six banks still refusing to verify
\naccounts.<\/p>\n
He said IBRA was planning to employ about 70 percent of the
\nlaid-off employees on six-month contracts to assist the agency in
\nassuming control of the assets of the closed banks.<\/p>\n
He added that about 20 percent may get permanent jobs at the
\nagency.<\/p>\n
He said that other healthier banks were also considering
\ntaking over the branches of the closed banks, including some of
\ntheir employees.<\/p>\n
Separately, joint venture insurance firm PT Sewu New York Life
\nannounced Tuesday that it planned to recruit former bank
\nemployees to be part of its sales team. (rei\/jun)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ibra-balks-at-demand-for-higher-severance-payments-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}