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)