DI workers produce demand for large high severance payments
DI workers produce demand for large high severance payments
The Jakarta Post, Bandung/Jakarta
The workers' union of ailing state aircraft manufacturer PT
Dirgantara Indonesia (DI) said on Friday it would welcome the
government's plan for wholesale dismissal, but only if each laid-
off worker received at least Rp 200 million in severance pay.
Union secretary AM Bone said that the amount was about four
times that specified by current labor regulations.
"We'll ask the company to continue negotiating. As long as the
principle and the process are right, we'll accept it," Bone said.
The remarks could prove to be an indication of further snags
in resolving the dispute between the company's management and
workers, as, according to DI president Edwin Sudarmo, the
government's US$50 million bailout funds just cover the amount
required under the current rules.
"If the result (of the negotiations) requires us to pay more
than that, we would have to renegotiate on the bailout funds with
the government," Edwin said.
On Thursday, a Cabinet meeting decided to press ahead with the
troubled company's plans to lay off numerous workers and pledged
to provide them severance pay, drawn from the proceeds obtained
by the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) from the sale
of various assets.
The move was made in a bid to end the long standoff between
the two opposing parties so that the company could concentrate on
its business operations with a more efficient, slimmer
organization.
The dispute started in July when the management unilaterally
laid off 9,670 employees to try to reduce the company's financial
burden amid continued heavy losses. The move sparked anger and
protest from the workers, who had not previously been consulted
over the decision.
To end the standoff, which would have eventually created
further losses for the company, the government, as majority
shareholder, stepped in.
Formerly (and famously) known as PT Industri Pesawat Terbang
Indonesia (IPTN), DI used to be one of the 10 strategic
industries under the supervision of former technology minister
B.J. Habibie in the 1980s.
It received an initial capital injection of Rp 1.6 trillion
when it was established in 1986; however, in what analysts
attributed to its inefficiency, the company in early 1990 faced
severe financial problems, which forced the state to cover its
operational costs.
It then plunged deeper into trouble when the economic crisis
struck, which was followed by the fall of president Soeharto in
1998. He had previously regarded the technology sector as a
matter of national pride.
The aircraft company produced what was supposed to be the
country's own aircraft, the CN-235 and N-250. Currently, the
company is working on several orders to build CN-235 planes for
Malaysia's Royal Air Force and for Pakistan.
Elsewhere, Edwin reiterated that from the company's point of
view, it could only recruit a maximum of 3,400 workers, meaning
that it would still have to dismiss the remaining 6,600 workers.
Commenting on the union's demand, State Minister for State
Enterprises Laksamana Sukardi said the government had left that
decision to Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Jacob Nuwa
Wea.