PTDI, workers fail to reach agreement<\/p>\n
Ridwan Max Sijabat, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The management of state-owned aircraft manufacturer PT Dirgantara
\nIndonesia (PT DI) and its 6,600 dismissed workers have failed to
\nresolve their labor dispute under a bipartite negotiation, and
\nhas relegated the final decision to the Central Committee for the
\nSettlement of Labor Dispute (P4P).<\/p>\n
The settlement process under the P4p is expected to be
\nlengthy, as the conflicting parties may appeal to the Supreme
\nCourt against whatever verdict the committee delivers.<\/p>\n
The disputing parties reported the failure of their bipartite
\nnegotiation to the committee on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
P4P chairman Sabar Sianturi regretted the failure, saying this
\nwould not benefit either side because it would only prolong the
\nsettlement process.<\/p>\n
\"It will cost both the management and workers must time to
\nattend hearings at the high court and the Supreme Court under Law
\nNo. 22\/1957, because the dismissed workers are expected to fight
\nall the way to the Supreme Court,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Johnson Pandjaitan, the workers' legal representative, said
\nhis clients also regretted the deadlock and accused the
\nmanagement of lacking the commitment to solving the dispute
\npeacefully in the first place.<\/p>\n
\"The workers have no other alternative than to bring their
\ncase to the Supreme Court,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He said the workers were disappointed with the government for
\nturning a blind eye to the State Administrative Court, which
\nannulled the management's decision, \"and so far, neither the
\nmanagement nor the government have taken the initiative to
\ninvestigate allegations of financial problems and corruption.\"<\/p>\n
The management, with the government's approval, dismissed in
\nDecember 6,600 of 9,350 workers. The workers were laid off in
\nJuly after the company found it could no longer repay its debts
\nto local and international creditors.<\/p>\n
The government has disbursed US$5 million for severance and
\nservice pay to the dismissed workers, who rejected the payments
\nand demanded that they be reemployed.<\/p>\n
They said the company's financial problem was not caused by
\noverstaffing, but by a corrupt and inefficient management that
\nhad cost the company between Rp 2 trillion and Rp 3 trillion
\nsince 1997.<\/p>\n
Sabar said that with the failure of bipartite talks, the 15-
\nmember P4P, along with labor experts from the Ministry of
\nManpower and Transmigration, would hold a plenary session to take
\na final decision on the labor dispute.<\/p>\n
\"Whatever decision they take, it will have an impact on either
\nthe management or the dismissed workers, and the law allows
\neither to appeal to the higher courts,\" he said, adding that the
\ncommittee had yet to set a date for the plenary session.<\/p>\n
The dismissed workers have filed a lawsuit with the P4P and
\nthe State Administrative Court against the ailing company's
\nmanagement in response to their mass dismissal. They have also
\ndemanded that the government appoint a new board to save the
\ncompany.<\/p>\n
PT DI, formerly known as PT Industri Pesawat Terbang Nusantara
\n(IPTN), was an ambitious project of former president Soeharto.
\nUnder then-minister of research and technology B.J. Habibie, the
\ncompany set a target of producing commercial aircraft by 2015.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, thousands of dismissed workers who arrived on
\nMonday in Jakarta from Bandung, West Java, said they would
\ncontinue their fight case until the government met their demands.<\/p>\n
Several workers said they would accept the dismissal only if
\nthe company paid their monthly salaries since last July and
\nprovided double the severance and service payments as required by
\nChapter 164 of Law No. 13\/2003.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ptdi-workers-fail-to-reach-agreement-1447893297",
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