Fair employees protest over retirement money

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)