Company denies responsibility for workers

Company denies responsibility for workers

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Director of textile company PT Kawan Kita Sejahtera, Jimmy
Sitaniapessy, said on Tuesday he shared no responsibility for the
fate of 500 workers who had lost their jobs and had not received
their salaries.

In a statement made available to The Jakarta Post, Jimmy
explained that the one of the company's assets located in
Klapanunggal village, Bogor, had been sold to Korean businessman
Chong Ok Park from Park and Kwon in 2000.

"With the takeover of the factory, PT P and K Garment
Indonesia are subsequently responsible for all employees working
there," he said, referring to Park's company.

Last July, the factory abruptly halted operations. The workers
had not received their salaries for the last two months, let
alone severance pay.

Park reportedly had returned to his home country.

The workers, represented by the Union of Muslim Indonesian
Workers (Gaspermindo), filed a complaint with Bogor's manpower
office, the Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration, and the
police, but did not receive a positive response.

The Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH) listed at least seven
similar cases affecting thousands of laborers in Greater Jakarta
in the first half of this year. All of them were textile and
textile-related producers owned by foreign investors. Most of the
investors did not have Indonesian partners.

Last month, about 500 workers of PT Hyungsung Indonesia, a
Korean company producing Targus computer bags, took their boss
hostage after he abruptly closed down the factory due to
financial problems and announced that workers would only receive
one month's salary as severance pay. The workers allowed him to
leave after being promised severance pay in accordance with
manpower regulations.

LBH Jakarta has urged the government to impose firm
regulations on foreign investors in a bid to protect workers'
basic rights.