Employers told to comply with THR regulation

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.