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.