Bali hotels pledge not to lay off workers

Bali hotels pledge not to lay off workers

Muhammad Nafik, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar, Bali

A feared social upheaval caused by rising unemployment may no longer be an issue in Bali as hotel managements there are vowing not to lay off their workers, despite the fact that the Oct. 12 blasts have seriously reduced hotel occupancy rates.

"We have decided not to lay off workers over the three months since the bombings and will evaluate the situation in February," I Gde Wirata, chairman of the Bali branch of the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI), told The Jakarta Post.

"But signs of recovery are increasingly clear in Bali, with the return of many foreign tourists to the resort island. It is giving us hope for the future," he added.

Wirata said that other positive signs included the success of the security authorities in capturing key bombing suspects, such as Imam Samudra and Amrozi, and the move by other countries to lift or ease travel bans on their citizens from visiting Bali.

Minister of Tourism and Culture I Gde Ardika's roadshows in Europe and other countries, aimed at promoting Indonesia, have also significantly helped convince foreigners to return or pledge to come again to Bali, Wirata said.

"This has increased hotel occupancy to around 30 percent to 50 percent since the incident," he said.

The bomb attack, which killed over 190 people and injured some 300 others, mostly foreigners, has devastated Bali as one of the world's most famous tourist islands, previously known for its peace and safety.

Analysts warned the government of a new social problem in Bali as hundreds of thousands of Balinese were likely to lose their jobs as a result of the crippled tourism industry in the predominantly Hindu province.

Hotels and restaurants there have indeed cut working hours for their workers but have continued to pay their basic salaries. Some are working only three or four days per week.

However, Wirata gave an assurance that the reduction of working hours would not lead to massive layoffs, at least until after January next year.

"Workers are a company's asset that must be maintained," he said.

His remark came as Balinese figures and analysts appealed to local tourism businesses to avoid laying off workers, despite the huge losses they were suffering after the deadly terrorist attack.

They lamented that businesspeople would be "inhuman" and lacking "social solidarity" if they decided to lay off their workers during the current economic hardship hitting the Balinese, who rely on tourism for their livelihood.

"Tourism had produced huge profits for decades in Bali. Now they want to lay off workers after the incident -- it's inhuman. They should bear the losses for several months during this difficult situation," Adnyana Manuaba, a scholar with Denpasar- based Udayana University, Bali, told the Post last week.

Similarly, senior Hindu activist I Wayan Jondra and local sociopolitical analyst Putu Suasta said that massive lay-offs had to be avoided to prevent social upheaval in Bali.

"The governor should officially ask businesses to ensure that their workers are not rendered jobless after the bombings. If they did otherwise, it would be a misjudgment of historic proportions in Bali," Suasta said.

"Local people would deride and oppose hotel operators moving to lay off workers. It would likely create unrest," he added.

Some 900,000 people, mostly Balinese, work in the tourism sector, particularly in hotels, which provide a total of 37,000 rooms across the province.