Dismissed Kasogi workers demand severance pay

ID Nugroho, The Jakarta Post, Surabaya

More than 1,500 workers, who were dismissed by shoe firm PT Kasogi Internasional tbk last July, descended again on the East Java legislative council building in Surabaya on Monday, pressing ahead with their demand for severance pay.

They lashed out at the 1999-2004 elected members of the council for not being serious in helping them fight for their rights.

The protesters marched from Jl. Diponegoro to the council building located on Jl. Indrapura, causing traffic jams in several areas.

Arriving at the council, the demonstrators immediately entered the compound and staged a rally against the shoe company located in the neighboring city of Sidoarjo.

The protesting workers demanded that the new legislative council order the Sidoarjo manpower office to summon PT Kasogi president director Riswandi Hendarta in order to pay them severance payments.

"Riswandi has ignored the law. He should therefore be taken to court," shouted a protester.

The demonstrators also urged the council, which was inaugurated earlier this month, to press PT Kasogi to drop its lawsuit against the labor dispute settlement committee of the Sidoarjo manpower office.

The company sued the committee for ordering it to pay the dismissed workers one month's salary in severance pay in addition to 50 percent of the amount of their unpaid salaries for three months since July.

The protesters threatened to occupy the council building, should their demands continue to be ignored by legislators or the shoe company.

They also said they would not hesitate to prosecute the new councillors if they were not serious in helping them overcome their plight.

Monday was the fifth protest by the same workers who have been struggling for severance pay since they were dismissed by PT Kasogi in July.

PT Kasogi officials have said that, due to financial problems, their company could not afford to pay a total of 20 billion (US$2.2 million) in severance pay for around 2,100 dismissed workers.

"It's very difficult to abide by the committee's decision because the company is already bankrupt," Riswandi told a hearing with local councillors, manpower officials and workers' representatives on Sept. 16.