Ex Shangri-La employees told to tone it down

Novan Iman Santosa, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The management of Shangri-La Hotel has urged its former employees not to stage rowdy rallies that bother hotel patrons while waiting for a Supreme Court ruling on their reemployment at the hotel.

"The former employees' action of staging rallies not only disrupt public order but also discourage guests from staying at our hotel," senior manager Wastu Widanto said on Friday.

"They are free to stage rallies but they must also remember that management is responsible for the wellbeing of its current 900 employees."

Both the management and former employees were engaged in a legal battle after 77 former employees rejected their dismissal from the hotel's employ after they went on strike for better welfare and working conditions in December 2000.

The strike forced the hotel to close down for about three months before it reopened in March 2001.

The hotel fired 579 employees, grouped in the Mandiri Labor Union (FSPM), after they occupied and vandalized the hotel, which forced the management to evacuate guests to other hotels.

Following the mass dismissal, most of the employees agreed to be fired or resign from the hotel and in return were to receive compensation packages from the management.

The hotel management claimed that the former employees were using loudspeakers to express their demands as well as unfurling banners.

"By using loudspeakers, they not only disturb our guests, but also tenants of nearby office buildings, especially those renting space at Wisma 46," said human resources director Tausa Faisal Tjandraatmadja.

"They also obstruct vehicle movement into the hotel compound by distributing leaflets, causing inconvenience to our guests."

Faisal said the hotel would reemploy the 77 former employees if the Supreme Court so ordered.

"But they cannot expect to get back their former positions because we must take into consideration current employment conditions at the hotel."