1,800 workers go on strike over salary

JAKARTA (JP): Some 1,800 garment factory workers in the Cakung bonded zone in East Jakarta have gone on strike to demand 30-day salaries instead of 25-day salaries.

The workers also want PT Kaltexindo to increase their food and transportation allowances to compensate for the recent increase in transportation fees.

Unfurling banners in front of the factory, the workers sang and yelled as their All Indonesia Workers Union representatives prepared to talk with the management on Tuesday.

According to the workers, PT Kaltexindo paid the new Rp 5,200 daily minimum wage this month, but paid them for only 25 working days instead of 30 days.

The new minimum wage regulation stipulates that each worker receive Rp 156,000 (US$ 65) each month, which means companies pay their workers for 30 days, including Sundays.

"The management promised us last month to implement the regulation, but when we received our salaries on the 20th, it turned out that they only gave us the amount for 25 days," Yani, one of the workers said.

Many garment companies belonging to the Association of Textile Companies have complained about the 30-day clause, arguing it will increase production costs and make their products less competitive.

The companies agreed to pay the new minimum wage, but have submitted a collective proposal to postpone paying their workers for 30 days.

PT Kaltexindo management said yesterday that the factory supports the postponement proposal.

Collective proposal

"As a member of the Association of Textile Companies and the Association of Manufacturing Companies which submitted the collective proposal, we are waiting for an answer from the government," the company's personnel officer, Bartolomeus, said.

"We also need an explanation on why we should pay for work on Sundays, when the workers are off," he said.

He said the management had consulted its chapter of the All Indonesia Workers Union about the 30-day clause.

Some workers accepted the management's decision, he said, while pointing to the more than 100 workers on the shop floor despite the protest outside the building.

He said the company gives each worker Rp 500 a day for transportation.

"We have no obligation to raise the allowance or provide a food allowance because they are included in their salaries as regulated by the government," he said.

The company's director, Chandra Henwijaya, said that many garment factories had no immediate problem meeting the workers' demand to be paid for 30 days, but could not maintain the policy.

"I doubt that the system can last, because it will add to the production costs, which will make us unable to compete with countries like Taiwan, Korea and the People's Republic of China," he said. "We have to consider that when our market shrinks, it could lead to layoffs," he added. (03)