Court rules in favor of PT DI workers over suspensions

Court rules in favor of PT DI workers over suspensions

Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post, Bandung

The Bandung Administrative Court in West Java ruled on Thursday
that the trial must continue for president director of PT
Dirgantara Indonesia Edwin Soedarmono, who was sued for
suspending more than 9,000 employees of the state-owned aircraft
company.

The panel of judges turned down Edwin's defense plea against a
lawsuit filed by the company's labor union Workers Communication
Forum (FKK) over the suspension.

Edwin and two other directors signed a decree ordering the
closure of the company and the five-month suspension of its 9,643
workers on July 11, 2003. It was not signed by the other two
directors.

Under the lawsuit, the workers asked the court to annul the
company's decision.

Judge Arpani Mansyur said the court dismissed Edwin's plea,
read out on Aug. 7 by his lawyer Monang Saragih, which demanded
the lawsuit be rejected because it lacked legal grounds.

Monang had said the decision to suspend the workers was taken
to save the company from bankruptcy as it suffered financial
problems.

Citing Article 48 of Law No. 5/1986, he said a local
administrative court had no authority to try an administrative
dispute at a state-owned company. Only the Jakarta State
Administrative Court is authorized to do so, he added.

In response, Arpani said that what was being tried by his
court was a labor, not administrative, dispute.

"Because there is no labor law for state-owned companies, we
have the right to try it (PT DI's labor case)," he added.

Arpani said the trial would resume on Aug. 21 to hear comments
from the accused and his lawyers.

He said the judges also asked Edwin to allow the workers to
have access to public facilities in the company, such as health
services, and to take their personal goods left at the company.

The court verdict received cheers and applause from thousands
of workers who packed the courtroom.

The suspension has sparked daily protests since July 11, with
workers staging rallies outside the company's compound and other
areas in Bandung.

However, several days after the company's closure Edwin
decided to allow at least 3,000 of its workers to gradually
return to work.