237 fired PTDI workers receive severance pay

237 fired PTDI workers receive severance pay

Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post, Bandung, West Java

The Jakarta State Administrative High Court (PTTUN) has decided
to delay its ruling, not as reported on Thursday, while the
management of state-owned aircraft manufacturer PT Dirgantara
Indonesia (PTDI) is unlikely to reinstate its workers, as 237 of
the total 6,651 dismissed workers have already received severance
pay.

PTDI president Edwin Soedarmo said here on Thursday that the
237 were among 1,300 dismissed workers who had accepted their
dismissal and fulfilled the necessary administrative requirements
for payment.

"We hope that the dismissal process will be completed in March
so that we can concentrate on our program to salvage the
company," he said.

He added that the company had received US$66.5 million from
the Indonesian Banking Restructuring Agency (IBRA) for severance
pay.

The company fired 6,651 of its 9,350 workers following
financial problems it had experienced since 1997. The ailing
company -- founded by former minister of research and technology
BJ Habibie in 1988 -- had suffered during the prolonged financial
crisis in the late 1990s, encountering difficulties in marketing
its products both at home and overseas.

Edwin said that the company would not wait for the verdict
before continuing with the dismissals. He claimed the delay
favored the ruling of the Central Committee for Settlement of
Labor Disputes (P4P).

Edwin denied reports that a verdict had been issued on the
case, saying that according to his lawyers, the court had asked
P4P to delay acting on its decision to allow the judges presiding
over the case more time to reach a verdict.

It had earlier been reported by the media, including The
Jakarta Post, that the court had overturned P4P's decision.

In a plenary session on Feb. 28, P4P had agreed to support the
decision to dismiss the workers.

Edwin said that his company would appeal the verdict with the
Supreme Court if PTTUN overturned P4P's decision.

Around 1,000 dismissed workers staged a rally near the
company's compound on Jl. Sudirman in Bandung on Thursday,
demanding that the company reinstate them and pay their salaries
and annual bonus over the period since the dispute began in July
2003.