Fate of Shangri-La employees decided by labor committee
Fate of Shangri-La employees decided by labor committee
JAKARTA (JP): The management of Shangri-La Hotel has accepted
the decision of the government-sanctioned Central Committee for
the Settlement of Labor Disputes which granted its request to lay
off 248 of the hotel's striking employees.
The number added to the 303 employees who finally resigned
last month after staging a strike over improvement in welfare in
December last year.
Shangri-La senior manager Wastu Widanto said on Saturday the
248 employees will receive separation pay as stipulated in the
Minister of Manpower decree No. 150/2000 on workers dismissal and
separation pay.
He said that the workers will receive a dismissal bonus, which
also includes a sum received according to their length of service
and medical benefits plus their salary for January.
"Each former employee may take home between Rp 8 million and
Rp 15 million on average, depending on their period of service,"
he told The Jakarta Post.
Wastu believed that the labor dispute committee's decision,
which was issued on Thursday, had settled the prolonged dispute.
"With this decision, we are confident that the labor issue
that began over three months ago is finally settled. We can now
fully focus on the future."
However, the dismissed employees rejected the committee's
decision, saying they would ask the Jakarta Administrative Court
to annul the decision since it only benefits the hotel
management, but not the employees.
Chairman of the hotel's independent labor union Halilintar
Nurdin said the dispute could not be settled by the committee
since it was a criminal case so it should be brought to court.
"The hotel management charged us with violating the law and
violating our contracts. Such accusations must be proven before a
court," he added.
The dispute revolved around the employees' demand for better
salaries and welfare facilities.
The workers claimed they were paid only Rp 280,000, far below
the Rp 384,000 official minimum wage.
According to Wastu, the monthly salary of the resigned and
dismissed employees was more than Rp 482,000.
Workers occupied the hotel on Dec. 22, forcing the hotel to
close for about three months, the closure of which had caused
some US$8.59 million in financial losses.
Instead of meeting workers' demands, the management dismissed
420 members and executives of the labor union. Some accepted it,
but many others rejected what they claimed was a one-sided
decision of the hotel management.
The hotel resumed operations on March 17.(bby)