Shoemaker mulls court's decision<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): A shoe company producing Nike footwear is
\nconsidering whether to meet the demands of 19 former employees
\nwho a court awarded compensation and instructed the company to
\nreemploy, a company executive said.<\/p>\n
\"Besides that, we also should coordinate with the Ministry of
\nManpower to discuss the case,\" human resources manager Agus
\nWiyanto of PT Eltri Indo Footwear, a subcontractor for Nike
\nfootwear, told The Jakarta Post Friday after a meeting with the
\nformer workers and their lawyer.<\/p>\n
Agus insisted that the company's executives would be willing
\nto meet with the former employees on Friday to reveal Eltri's
\ndecision.<\/p>\n
The workers of the Serang-based (West Java) company demanded
\nEltri pay compensation totaling Rp 150 million (US$1,187) to the
\n19 workers.<\/p>\n
\"If the company does not want to reemploy them, the workers
\nneed compensation and severance pay,\" Jakarta Legal Institute
\nlawyer Surya Chandra, who acted as the workers' lawyer, told the
\nPost on the same occasion.<\/p>\n
According to the employees, they and five other colleagues
\nwere suspended five years ago following a massive two-day
\ndemonstration by some of the company's 6,500 workers in August
\n1992.<\/p>\n
They demanded the company increase the basic salary from Rp
\n2,100 a day to Rp 2,600 a day in accordance with a manpower
\nregulation at the time.<\/p>\n
After the police completed an investigation into the protest,
\nincluding by searching the employees' rented houses, the company
\n-- formerly called PT Sung Hwa Dunia -- suspended the 24
\nemployees in January 1993 for allegedly masterminding the
\ndemonstration, Surya said.<\/p>\n
Out of the 24 workers, 19 of them immediately visited the
\nlegal institute and asked the lawyers to discuss the dispute with
\nthe company and the Labor Dispute Settlement Committee of the
\nMinistry of Manpower.<\/p>\n
In response, the committee, both its local office and the
\nministry, ordered the company to compensate the workers for the
\namount of time they were suspended and rehire them, Surya said.<\/p>\n
The company then submitted a proposal to then manpower
\nminister Abdul Latief to request a veto of the committee's
\ndecision, he added.<\/p>\n
In February 1994, Latief hailed the firm's proposal and
\ncanceled the committee's decision, which led the workers to file
\na suit with the Jakarta Administrative Court, he said.<\/p>\n
The court decided on April 24, 1995 to cancel the minister's
\ndecision and urged the company to pay compensation and rehire the
\nworkers.<\/p>\n
Surya said the court decision had been upheld by the Jakarta
\nState High Administrative Court and later by the Supreme Court.<\/p>\n
After the tripartite meeting on Friday, Surya said the firm's
\nexecutives apparently did not accept the Supreme Court's decision
\nand was attempting to lodge an appeal. (jun)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/shoemaker-mulls-courts-decision-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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