Fair employees protest over retirement money

JAKARTA (JP): Representatives of more than 300 former employees of the Jakarta Fair Foundation filed a complaint with the city council yesterday over their future severance pay.

Employees said their current employer, a joint venture including the foundation set up in 1992, is considering those with up to 20 years of service as new workers.

They said they only realized this when some of them recently acquired lump sums for their retirement from the new company, PT Jakarta International Trade and Corporation (JITC), located in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta.

JITC, a joint venture of five Japanese firms and domestic partners including the municipality, was established to develop and manage the new Jakarta trade fair in Kemayoran, replacing the old one in the National Monument (Monas) area.

Employees entering retirement found out the company only took into account their services as of the 1992 merger when calculating retirement payments.

Waving banners in the council lobby, the employees told councilors from the commission A for government affairs and commission E for public welfare that they had never been informed that they were considered new workers.

Employees with a total of 10 years to 15 years of service at the foundation and JITC recently received the equivalent of one month's salary at retirement.

They said employees with 15 to 20 years of service received 1.5 month's salary, and those who worked more than 20 years received two months salary.

Basyar Lubis, a spokesman, resigned from the foundation in 1990 and received Rp 15 million (US$6,521) for his 21 years of service.

This is not fair to my friends who worked for more than 20 years, he said.

Basyar said employees have tried to negotiate with the municipality about the problem since last January.

However they failed to reach an agreement, although Governor Surjadi Soedirdja was in agreement with the employees, Basyar said.

He said according to data of the city inspector, the foundation still has funds of Rp 5.7 billion which was to be the city's equity in JITC.

Given the available funds, he said, "the settlement lies on the good intentions of the administration".

The employees also demanded the foundation pay for the services of others who resigned before the merger.

The chairman of commission A, Atje Mulyadi, said that both commissions will summon city officials and the foundation's board of directors to settle the matter.(yns)