Ex hotel workers to continue rallies

Ex hotel workers to continue rallies

JAKARTA: A labor activist vowed on Monday to continue the
struggle for the rights of former Shangri-La hotel employees by
regularly staging demonstrations at the hotel until the case was
settled.

"We will not retreat back because we feel that we are not
guilty," Odie Hudiyanto, secretary of the Independent Labor Union
Federation (FSPM), told The Jakarta Post.

Underlining that the former hotel workers always staged
peaceful rallies, he denied a statement made by the hotel
management that the protests were disrupting public order.

"We've never committed any vandalism, either," he said.

The dispute started in December 2000, when hundreds of hotel
employees went on strike to demand better conditions, and were
subsequently dismissed by management.

After a long process, most of them accepted their dismissals
based upon the compensation package offered by management. But
the remaining ex employees brought the case to court, demanding
that the hotel reemploy them.

The case is now before the Supreme Court.--JP