Bus crew threaten to block streets

Bus crew threaten to block streets

JAKARTA (JP): Despite calls for an end to their strike, some
1,500 drivers and conductors of state bus company Perum PPD
continued their protest on Thursday and threatened to disrupt
traffic in the city to force the government to bow to their
demands.

The bus crews, who staged a sit-in at the PPD head office in
Cawang, East Jakarta on Thursday, said they would drive through
the city on Friday and abandon their buses on main streets to
attract the public's attention.

"We have agreed to drive around the city. Afterwards, we will
leave all the buses on the streets and march to the Ministry of
Transportation to meet the government officials concerned," a
driver, A. Sajuri, said to applause from his colleagues.

He said the firm's employees would be emulating truck drivers
in France, who lined up their vehicles on roads in a strike last
year.

"Such a demonstration will be very effective," he said.

With no PPD buses on the streets, thousands of people were
left stranded at bus stops across Greater Jakarta.

Makmur Ginting, secretary of the Indonesian Prosperous Labor
Union (SBSI)'s PPD chapter, said such a move looked unavoidable
even though the firm's employees knew it would cause traffic
chaos in the city.

"We can't stop them ... as they are very disappointed with the
management and the government, both of which have yet to respond
to their demands," he said, adding that the move was a last
resort that they had been forced to take.

Makmur insisted that the management should first pay the
employees' wages for February and March, together with their
allowances.

"We are hungry and our families are also hungry because our
wages for the last two months haven't been paid," he said.

He further said that the workers were demanding that the
government revamp the company by replacing corrupt executives and
improving the remuneration system.

"The company will continue to suffer losses if the corrupt
officials keep their jobs. We want the government to pick a new
management team from among the workers because we are the ones
who know how to solve the company's problems," he said.

He also said the government should investigate rampant
corruption among company management, whom he accused of misusing
the huge amounts of money collected from workers to pay monthly
premiums under the social insurance program.

"The management has collected a total of Rp 2 billion over the
past seven months, but the money has yet to reach PT Jamsostek,"
he said, referring to the state social insurance company.

Undecided

Separately, Minister of Finance Prijadi Praptosuhardjo said
the government remained undecided whether to dissolve or
restructure the bus company.

Speaking at a press briefing following a meeting of economic
ministers presided over by Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri
on Thursday, Prijadi said the government would appoint an
independent consultant to assess the feasibility of the
alternatives available to the government.

"The independent consultant will decide whether PPD can
continue or should be wound up. We also have to make sure that if
it continues operating, it can afford to pay its mounting debts,"
Prijadi said.

PPD has been enjoying a government subsidy to date, but as the
financial crisis continues to cripple the country, the government
is reconsidering its assistance.

Prijadi said a restructuring of the company would greatly
depend on the government's cash flow situation.

Minister of Transportation and Telecommunication Agum Gumelar,
who also spoke at the media conference, told a different story.
He said the government had decided to restructure the company.

"At the previous economics meeting with the Vice President, we
decided to restructure the company and not to liquidate it," Agum
said, adding that the program was already underway.

Coordinating Minister for the Economy Rizal Ramli at the same
press briefing denied the striking bus employees' claim that they
had not been paid for the last two months.

"The government has prepared funds to pay the drivers' wages
during the process, so please stop the strike. It's not true that
we did not pay the salaries," Rizal said. (dja/rms)