463 sugar factory workers lose jobs in South Kalimantan
463 sugar factory workers lose jobs in South Kalimantan
Yuliansyah, The Jakarta Post, Banjarmasin
Some 463 workers at Pelaihari Sugar Company in Tanah Laut
regency, South Kalimantan, have lost their jobs without
compensation after their once reputable firm was liquidated by
the Office of the State Minister of State Enterprises last month.
The workers have been out of work for three months since the
company ceased operations.
"So far, our fate is still unclear as the firm has not yet
given us an official explanation, or compensation," one of the
workers said on Wednesday. "The company leaders are not even in
the office."
The workers warned they would stage a demonstration if the
company did not offer them a solution immediately, saying that
they depended on the company for their livelihood.
Aside from rendering hundreds of workers jobless, the closure
of the sugar company also made children nearby the firm unable to
continue their studies as the schools, managed by the company,
were also closed.
If the local government doesn't take over the management of
the only school in the area, the children will be unable to
study.
The Pelaihari Sugar Company, owned PT Sentra Mas and PT
Silvatex and the central government, was liquidated on Oct. 5 as
it had suffered heavy financial losses since it was established
in 1985.
No official figures are available. The company reportedly had
a total debt of Rp 138.6 billion (US$15.4 million), and must pay
Rp 11 billion in installments every year. Meanwhile, its assets
only stood at Rp 70 billion.
The firm had 40,000 hectares of sugar cane fields but managed
only 7,000 hectares. Also, it was unable to produce high quality
sugar and failed to compete with sugar from outside the area as
well as imported sugar.
The last operator of the company was PT Sentra Mas.
Members of the company's management have been transferred to a
number of state-owned plantation companies in Surabaya, East
Java; Semarang, Central Java; and Pontianak, West Kalimantan.
Separately, the deputy chief of the South Kalimantan Manpower
and Transmigration office, Robby B. Mondigir, said his office had
held talks with the Pelaihari Sugar Company's management, and the
latter promised to pay the unpaid salaries and compensation for
the workers.
"We will meet with the management of the factory to discuss
the liquidation later this week," he said.
According to him, he would ask the company's management to
provide clarification about the firm's closure to the workers.
"We ask the workers to be patient," he said.
He also said that the workers must look for other employment
following the closure of the sugar company.