700 workers quit with severance payment

700 workers quit with severance payment

JAKARTA (JP): Seven hundred female workers officially quit
from two garment factories in North Jakarta yesterday after
receiving severance pay from their employers.

The payment ended the month-long dispute over the employers'
plan to transfer the workers to other companies for business
reasons.

The solution was reached last week through the mediation of
the local office of the Ministry of Manpower.

PT Bestextindo and Kwalitexindo, both under the management of
Mayatexdian Industry Group, granted severance pay because the
workers firmly opposed the employers' plan and said they
preferred dismissal with severance pay.

The employers' decision to pay between Rp 200,000 (US$90) and
Rp 800,000 to each employee depending on seniority surprised the
workers because people who had resigned previously received only
between Rp 85,000 and Rp 100,000 each.

The employees in dispute with the management had worked at the
two companies between one and eight years.

"The employers have been very wise in their decision," said
Indriani, head of the local unit of the All Indonesian Workers'
Union (SPSI), told The Jakarta Post,.

The conflict emerged when the two companies decided to
transfer the workers to other garment companies because,
according to sources at the management, business at PT
Bestextindo and Kwalitexindo was declining.

The workers rejected the idea because they had heard the new
factories would not take into account their working experiences.

"The buildings are not large enough to accommodate us,"
Indriani said.

But the management told the Post that it would arrange
everything in such a way that there would be no inconvenience.

As a result of the workers' refusal to move, the management
put them on "inactive" status from September, but continued to
pay them full salaries. (03)