Ex-hotel workers continue protest

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