Shangri-La management's row with hotel union continues<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Disputing Shangri-La hotel management and the
\nhotel's labor union lashed out at each other on Friday over what
\neach claimed were illegal actions perpetrated by the other.<\/p>\n
The hotel's general manager Peter Carmichael claimed that the
\nHouse of Representatives Commission VII on manpower and social
\nwelfare affairs had concluded during a hearing last week that the
\nunion members had acted illegally and against the principles of
\nthe labor movement.<\/p>\n
\"The commission added that the existing collective labor
\naccord ... should be followed,\" Carmichael said in a statement
\nmade available to The Jakarta Post on Friday.<\/p>\n
The labor agreement was signed by both the management and the
\nunion on Dec. 13, 1999, was reconfirmed on Oct. 20, 2000 and is
\nvalid until December of this year.<\/p>\n
The current labor dispute began when some 420 hotel employees
\naffiliated to the Shangri-La Hotel Independent Workers' Union
\n(SPMS) staged strikes between Dec. 22 and Dec. 26 of last year to
\ndemand better conditions. They also occupied the hotel, causing
\nit to halt its operations.<\/p>\n
Carmichael said that the hotel regretted the union's illegal
\nactions as the management had made \"sustained efforts to resolve
\nthe impasse and acted in good faith.\"<\/p>\n
A request to dismiss those who acted illegally has been
\nsubmitted for approval to the manpower ministry office, he added.<\/p>\n
Separately, the lawyer representing the SPMS, Rita Olivia,
\naccused the hotel management of illegally suspending the union's
\nchairman Halilintar Nurdin.<\/p>\n
\"The House concluded that Halilintar's suspension was
\nillegal,\" Rita, who heads the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH)'s
\nlabor division, claimed.<\/p>\n
She said the management's decision to recruit temporary
\nworkers to take the place of the protesting union workers was
\nillegal.<\/p>\n
Specifically, she accused the management of breaching article
\n28 of the Labor Unions Law No. 21\/2000 for obstructing the
\nunion's activities. The violation carries a maximum punishment of
\nbetween one year and five years in jail or a fine of between Rp
\n100 million and Rp 500 million.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, hundreds of the union's members continued to rally
\nin front of the hotel on Jl. Jend. Sudirman, Central Jakarta on
\nFriday.<\/p>\n
Wearing white headbands and carrying posters, the workers
\ndemanded access to their union office in the hotel's basement.<\/p>\n
\"We received information that our office was being used as a
\nstoreroom for dishes,\" one of the workers, Timron Nababan, said.<\/p>\n
But the management, through a human resources officer, said
\nthat the office was sealed by police after the hotel's temporary
\nclosure on account of the strike. (jun)<\/p>",
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