Discotheque employees seek severance pay

Discotheque employees seek severance pay

JAKARTA (JP): Twenty-one employees of Sydney 200 Discotheque
on Jl. Hayam Wuruk, West Jakarta, claimed on Monday that they
were dismissed without severance pay.

The employees went to the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute to air
their complaints.

The spokeswoman for the employees, Asri, said that the
employees were arbitrarily dismissed by the discotheque's owner,
identified as Ahok, on Dec. 16.

"The discotheque often dismisses its workers ahead of the
Christmas or Idul Fitri holidays, possibly to enable it to avoid
paying holiday bonuses," Asri said.

According to Asri, the discotheque's management claims that
the employees were dismissed due to a sharp decrease in the
number of visitors as a result of the prolonged economic crisis.

However, Asri opposed this reason as baseless, stating that
the discotheque continued to attract a lot of customers.

"It's not true. You can visit the discotheque and see that
hundreds of people still visit this entertainment spot every
night, regardless of the economic crisis," she said.

She also said that the workers, who have worked at the
discotheque for between three and five years, demanded severance
pay according to manpower regulations.

Besides demanding severance pay, the workers also asked for
this month's salaries plus their Christmas or Idul Fitri bonuses,
she said.

The employees of the discotheque, which is located in the
Glodog Jaya building, each earned between Rp 300,000 (US$40) and
Rp 500,000 a month, she said.

Asri, who was a receptionist at the discotheque, said that the
employees were not asking to be re-employed because they disliked
working for the owner.

"Ahok often yelled at us without clear reasons. He also liked
to dismiss workers he dislikes by ordering security guards to
prohibit them from entering the discotheque when they show up for
work," said Asri, who worked at the discotheque for three years.

The discotheque's executives could not be reached for comment
on Monday. "They usually come here at night," a telephone
operator at the discotheque said.

Surya Tjandra, a lawyer at the institute who is representing
the workers, said that he would summon the discotheque executives
to discuss the matter on Wednesday. (jun)