1,000 employees of PD Paar Jaya to be laid off
Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Employees of city-owned PD Pasar Jaya are facing a gloomy future as the company has started a major plan to lay off 1,000 of its 3,000 employees.
PD Pasar Jaya president director Prabowo Soenirman said on Thursday that the layoff was part of efforts to improve efficiency in the company, which controls a total of 151 traditional markets in the city.
Speaking during a hearing with City Council Commission B for economic affairs, Prabowo said that the large number of employees was inefficient because 45 percent of the company's revenue was spent on employees' salaries.
The layoff will be implemented gradually starting this month. Around 200 employees will be in the first batch to be laid off.
PD Pasar Jaya will have to spend between Rp 5 billion (US$581,395.4) and Rp 6 billion to compensate those who become jobless.
"We anticipate that the process will be complete before 2004," said Prabowo, who replaced the former president director Sjahril Tanjung last month.
He said those who were recruited based on nepotism would be the first to be laid off.
PD Pasar Jaya has failed to contribute significantly to the city budget although it controls 151 markets with total assets worth over Rp 50 trillion.
This year, the company is targeted to contribute Rp 6 billion to the city budget, far from last year's contribution of only Rp 1.4 billion.
Prabowo, pessimistic about the target, said that the company only had some Rp 35 billion in its bank account but its bank loans reached Rp 39 billion.
Some claim that the company is a cash cow for certain officials and councillors.
A number of councillors are known to own several kiosks in the city's markets such as in Tanah Abang market and Glodok market in West Jakarta and Kenari market in Central Jakarta.
The kiosks are rented to businessmen and the rental fees have been used for councillors' political party operational costs and private use, all in violation of regulations on city-owned businesses.
Prabowo emphasized that the vacant kiosks in a number of markets also contributed to the inefficiency. Some 59 markets built based on a presidential instruction during former president Soeharto era were quiet due to their location.
He said that occupation rate in those markets was less than 50 percent.
"There are even markets with an occupancy rate of only 10 percent to 20 percent."
Commission B secretary Dani Anwar said that the legislators supported the layoff but demanded the company provide adequate compensation for employees who would be dismissed.
"We know that PD Pasar Jaya is not efficient. We hope that the move will be able to improve its performance in the future," he said.