Employees of Taman Mini go on strike over bonus

JAKARTA (JP): Some 800 employees of the 900-strong workforce of Taman Mini Indonesia Indah (the Beautiful Indonesia in Miniature Park) in East Jakarta went on strike on Sunday to press their demands for a raise in their annual Idul Fitri allowance.

The protest which started at around 8 a.m. took place in front of the park's management office, leaving dozens of puzzled visitors stranded in queues at the entrance gates, which were closed by the strikers.

Some of the visitors decided to cancel their weekend recreation plan and turned their cars round to leave the vast entertainment and recreation park, which was built on the initiative of late former first lady Tien Soeharto.

The frustrated visitors included families from other provinces, such as Central Java.

Deden, one of the park's security guards, related that he had met an elderly couple along with their grandchildren from the Central Java capital of Semarang who had to leave the compound in confusion about the closure of the gates on such a busy Sunday.

"When I closed the gates this morning, the couple asked me what was wrong and they urged me to explain as they had to explain in turn to their grandchildren why they couldn't enter the park," he said.

Attired in their light blue uniforms, the on-strike employees unfurled banners that read -- among other things: "Think of our fate" and "Please help us, Boss!"

At about midday the employees stopped their peaceful three- hour strike after the management of the park promised to further discuss their demands with executives of the Harapan Kita Foundation that run the park; these include former president Soeharto.

According to the workers, they initially planned to go on strike for a full week beginning Sunday unless the management met their demands.

"We today decided to close the entrance gates as we were afraid of people who wanted to take advantage during our stoppage due to the lack of security," Joko Widodo, who represented the employees, told media at the site.

The protesting employees agreed to disperse and resume work after some of their representatives were invited for a dialog by the deputy general manager of the park.

According to Joko, the Taman Mini employees wanted a significant increase in their annual Idul Fitri allowance, locally called THR, this year because all of them have received an unchanged Rp 150,000 since 1980.

"The management should also understand that all prices these days have gone up," he said.

The employees did not specify any amount for the raise in their allowance this year as they said they also fully understood about the significant drop in the park's income.

They only referred to the Minister of Manpower's decree No. 4/1994, which states that employers should provide Idul Fitri allowances to their workers which are equal to the employees' monthly salary.

"Since the regulation was enacted, we have never protested for any hike at all," Joko added.

Separately, the park's spokesman Dandoel Hardoyono said he promised to submit the employees' demands to the executives of the foundation.

"I understand why they have to hold a protest but we ask them to resume work as their demands will be submitted to the Harapan Kita Foundation's chairman and its other executives," he said.

Dandoel also said that in general the protest went peacefully and the protesters had evidently notified local police and asked for security back up.

Located on a 150-hectare plot, Taman Mini is run by a management under the Harapan Kita Foundation, which is chaired by former president Soeharto.

Dubbed one of the country's assets, the park sparked controversy during its development in the mid 70s. Many still believe that the park was a private property of Soeharto's family.

The park usually reached its business peak on holidays with visitors from a variety of places who include foreign tourists.

On the first day of 1998, for instance, the park recorded 80,000 visitors. (emf)