Companies organize exodus for workers
Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Poyo, 30, a stone mason, who works for a small developer in East Jakarta, is unhappy he cannot celebrate Idul Fitri in his hometown in Purwodadi, Central Java, this year.
"I am broke. My boss has got only a few work orders during the past two months, while my daily spending has gone up as the price of basic commodities rises. I have no money to return home," he said.
Sadeli, a satay vendor in his 50s, says for him mudik, or the annual exodus, is always a time of financial stress.
"Mudik simply means that I have to spend lots of money for bus tickets, which hover at around Rp 44,000 now, not to mention gifts for my family and relatives at home," he said.
Low-paid workers have suffered the most from the Oct. 1 fuel price hikes, which were immediately followed by rising transportation, food and living costs. Many have decided not to join the more than 2.5 million Jakartans expected to leave town over the holiday.
"Due to the fuel price increases, many construction workers cannot afford to return home to enjoy Idul Fitri. For that reason, our company has decided to organize the journey home for those workers this year," Monika Irayati, the corporate communications manager of cement producer PT Semen Cibinong told The Jakarta Post on Friday.
The company would provide 54 buses to bring over 3,000 construction workers to their hometowns throughout Java. They are set to leave today from the Bung Karno Stadium at 8:30 a.m.
"By organizing the journey, we also want to thank them for their participation in the development projects we are doing," she said.
Noodle producer Indofood Sukses Makmur also provides 147 buses for about 8,000 of its street vendors in Greater Jakarta.
"This is the 12th year we have organized transport for mudik. We have continued this program since many vendors have said they benefit from it," deputy head of public relations Sri Bugo Suratmo said.
Meanwhile, Irwan Hidayat, president director of herbal medicine company Sido Muncul said his company had for 16 years sent more than 13,000 herbal medicine hawkers home in 220 buses.
"Initially, this was a kind of an incentive for our hawkers to sell more of our products. But, later, we adopted this as part of our corporate social responsibility program," Irwan said.
Governor Sutiyoso welcomed the moves, saying they lessened the burden on the city to provide public transportation for the low- paid.
The Jakarta administration has prepared 6,566 buses, 598 railway carriages, 214 aircraft and four ferries to cater for the increased holiday transportation demand.