Ex-hotel workers continue protest

JAKARTA: Dozens of former employees of the Shangri-La Hotel staged a protest in front of the hotel on Jl. Jend. Sudirman, Central Jakarta, on Monday to mark the one-year anniversary of their dispute with management.

They erected a banner, five meters high and 30 meters long, which they claimed was the biggest ever used in an Indonesian labor protest.

In December of last year, 580 workers of the hotel staged a demonstration in demand of better working conditions.

Following tough negotiations involving the Ministry of Manpower's Committee for the Settlement of Labor Dispute, most of the workers then agreed to be dismissed after receiving some compensation, while a few were reinstated.

Dozens of others, however, said they were not satisfied, and brought the case to ILO. Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Jacob Nuwa Wea said he rejected intervention from any international forum in the settlement of internal labor disputes.

The Shangri-La was forced to halt its operation for three months due to the dispute. But it soon managed to resume business, and recently it even won a tourism award from the city administration.--JP