Labor disputes at aircraft industry grow complicated<\/p>\n
Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post, Bandung<\/p>\n
Complications have thwarted progress in the labor disputes at
\nstate-owned aircraft manufacturing industry PT Dirgantara
\nIndonesia (PT DI) after the management and the Forum of
\nCommunications for Employees, the company's labor union, took
\nmatters into their own hands.<\/p>\n
The management suspended the labor union's two executives
\nafter workers walked off the job at the company's facilities in
\nBandung, West Java, on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
PT DI president Jusman S. Djamal said Arif Minardi, chairman
\nof the labor union, and A.M. Bone, the union's secretary-general,
\nwere suspended for violating the law.<\/p>\n
\"The management agreed to suspend the two men because they
\nrejected seeking a comprehensive solution to the disputes,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
He said the management was concerned over the continued labor
\nstrike, which was a violation of the no-strike agreement reached
\nby both sides last year.<\/p>\n
\"Shutting down the company's factory was a violation of the
\nlaw and is an intolerable action the management must protest and
\nthe workers have cut their own throat,\" he said, adding that the
\nmanagement had sent a letter to Minister of Manpower and
\nTransmigration Jacob Nuwa Wea to ask for permission to dismiss
\nthe two labor activists.<\/p>\n
Separately, Arif and Bone rejected their suspension, saying
\nthat the decision was not effective and invalid as it was made by
\nthe management unilaterally.<\/p>\n
Some 1,000 of the company's 9,000 employees stayed off the
\njob, shutting down two factories, because they said that the new
\nmanagement was unable to handle the corrupt, collusive and
\nnepotistic practices in the company.<\/p>\n
The workers also said the management did not show commitment
\nin complying with the agreements reached by both sides at
\nHanomann Hotel last year, including on the cases of alleged
\ncorruption.<\/p>\n
The agreements stipulate, among other things, an investigation
\ninto alleged corruption in the company and an increase in pension
\nfunds for retired workers.<\/p>\n
The workers also protested the payment of Rp 1 million an hour
\nfor lawyers who were recruited to accompany the executives
\nundergoing investigation in the corruption cases, a fee the
\nmanagement has denied paying.<\/p>\n
The labor union has reported the findings made by the
\nDevelopment Finance Comptroller (BPKP), of two cases of
\ncorruption in 1998 and 1999 to the management, but they have yet
\nto be followed up.<\/p>\n
The management has yet to investigate corruption charges of Rp
\n4 billion at the company's aircraft service division in 1999 and
\nthe disappearance of 18 NC-212 aircraft engines worth US$400,000
\nin 1998.<\/p>\n
Air Force chief Adm. Hanafie Asnan, as a commissioner of the
\ncompany, said he regretted the factories being shut down, adding
\nthat the management should take strict measures against the
\nworkers' actions.<\/p>\n
He compared the incident to a coup d'etat, an action that
\nbroke the law.<\/p>\n
Hanafie was visiting the air defense unit near PT DI's plant
\nin the city.<\/p>\n
\"In the military, this kind of (labor) action is considered a
\ncoup that must be quelled immediately,\" he said, while laughing
\nat the protesters.<\/p>\n
He said the continued labor strike had a lot to do with the
\nlarge number of inactive workers at the company resulting from a
\ndecrease in orders.<\/p>\n
The labor strike could affect the company's credibility
\noverseas, he added.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/labor-disputes-at-aircraft-industry-grow-complicated-1447893297",
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