900 workers fear of dismissal

900 workers fear of dismissal

JAKARTA (JP): Nine hundred workers of an electronics factory in Bogor, West Java, are afraid of losing their jobs as the Sony Corporation has canceled the company's license, the company's unit of the All-Indonesia Labor Union Federation has said.

Head of the union, Surachman, in a statement made available to the media yesterday, said that the management had informed the workers of the development after Sony canceled the license.

He said the management sees no other way but to dismiss all workers late this month.

"We keep praying and will stressfully wait for the time," Surachman said. If dismissals happen, it will cause suffering to 3,000 people, he added.

Amcol Graha, which was founded in 1987, produces Sony electronics for the domestic market.

No explanation was given as to why Sony canceled the license.

Surachman said things will become worse for the workers, who are mostly Moslems. "They hope for good times during Ramadhan, and an annual bonus for Idul Fitri," he said.

The Ministry of Manpower's Director General of Industrial Relations and Labor Standards Suwarto said yesterday that he had not received a formal report on the case.

He said; "The company may lose the license, but labor regulations still stand, the workers should get their normative rights such as severance pay once they are dismissed." (03)