Employers told to comply with THR regulation

Bambang Nurbianto and Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Tangerang

City Governor Sutiyoso has asked employers in the city to comply with a manpower decree that they should pay the Idul Fitri bonus (THR) to their employees no later than seven days before the beginning of festivities.

"Paying THR is an obligation for all employers to their employees; therefore it should be paid immediately so that the employees can utilize it for necessities associated with the Idul Fitri celebrations," Sutiyoso said on Tuesday.

The obligation to pay THR is set out in decree from the manpower minister No. 04/MEN/1994. The decree says that the THR should be paid seven days before the beginning of Idul Fitri. The amount payable is based on the employee's working period.

Based on Law No. 55/1969 on basic provisions for employees, violators of the regulation are threatened with a three-month jail term or a fine of up to Rp 100,000.

Workers who have worked for at least three months have the right to receive THR. Employees who have worked for a year receive THR equivalent to at least one month's salary. But those who have worked for less than a year are entitled to less than that.

Sutiyoso, however, stressed that the amount payable of the THR could be discussed between employers and employees, to take into account the company's financial position.

Meanwhile, head of the city manpower agency Ali Zubeir said that employers whose companies were in financial difficulty should submit a report to his agency, stating that they could not pay the Idul Fitri bonus.

"If they genuinely have financial problems or if payment of the THR would cause them to become bankrupt, they may be granted exemption from paying it," Ali said.

According to him, officials from his agency would check the financial status of companies reporting financial difficulties. If the reports were false, he added, the employers would be compelled to pay THR.

However, he said, so far no employers had reported difficulty in paying THR.

He also said that so far there were no reports from workers or worker associations of not being paid THR.

Meanwhile, Tangerang Police deputy chief Comr. G.D.E. Sugianyar said on Tuesday that, within the area under his jurisdiction, on average three groups of workers had staged rallies every day at separate locations since early in Ramadhan, demanding THR.

He cited that the most recent rally had been held by some 400 workers of PT Bumi Indah Raya, a furniture producer on Jl Imam Bonjol, Karawaci. The workers held a sit-in on Nov. 19 at the factory. They ended their demonstration on Monday after the management promised them additional money for their THR this year.

Separately, Rully Riyanto, who led the action, said that workers had initially demanded the company pay THR as high as twice their monthly salaries.

Staff member at Tangerang municipal manpower agency Lily Suhemy said that as of yesterday, no rallies had been held by workers at the agency office to demand THR, as last year.

"It's very different compared with last year, when tens of thousands of workers organized rallies at the agency office to demand the THR bonus," she told The Jakarta Post.