Companies organize exodus for workers

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.