200 laid-off workers plead their case

JAKARTA (JP): More than 200 laid-off workers of Surakarta- based garment company PT Tyfountex Indonesia have traveled from the Central Java town to the capital to protest the company's refusal to rehire them.

They went to the National Commission on Human Rights on Thursday to plead their case.

Workers' spokeswoman Jumini said the Indonesian-Hong Kong joint venture was refusing to back down on its decision. The firm has filed suit at the Jakarta High Administrative Court against a the Central Committee for the Settlement of Industrial Disputes (P4P) of the Ministry of Manpower, which ordered the firm to reemploy them.

"We asked the commission to remind judges of the court to give a fair decision," said Jumini, who claimed to be representing about 2,000 workers laid off from a workforce of about 8,000.

The company has also failed to abide by the P4P's order to pay back wages since August, she said. The workers' monthly wages were an average of Rp 160,000 (US$16).

Clementino dos Reis Amaral, one of the commission members, received the workers and promised to convey their demand to the appropriate authorities.

Jumini said the workers had visited the court before traveling to the commission to urge swift handling of the case.

She quoted the court's chief, Markus Lande, as saying the hearing would start on Oct. 12.

The workers arrived in the city by four buses on Wednesday and directly went to the Ministry of Manpower to give support to P4P in facing the lawsuit.

They are staying at the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH) office on Jl. Diponegoro, Central Jakarta.

The workers together with 500 other colleagues visited the ministry on Aug. 26 to complain about their dismissals, following a mass rally demanding a 15 percent increase in their wage and meal allowance in July.

The protesters returned home after their demand was heeded.

The company complained that the decision of P4P in favor of the dismissed workers was unfair.

Tyfountex director Suwatna Djajasaputra said in September the government only favored the dismissed workers without considering the remaining 6,000 workers who were loyal to the company.

About 500 workers who supported the company visited the ministry and demanded that Minister of Manpower Fahmi Idris veto the decision.

But director general of industrial relations and labor standards, Syaufii Samsuddin, insisted the management should comply with the committee's decision because the manpower minister had not overruled it.

Jumini contended on Thursday that only a handful of workers from production and nonproduction units were opposed to the laid- off workers campaign.

"It's illogical if they reject us since we are struggling for an increase in their wages," she said. (jun)