Former Garuda staff stage protest

JAKARTA (JP): Dozens of former employees of national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia staged a rally at the airline's headquarters in Central Jakarta on Monday to demand that the company pay them outstanding social security payments.

The protesters' spokesman, Hamdani Azis, said Garuda had cheated its former employees by paying their insurance premiums (while still employed) to state PT Jamsostek insurance firm based on their basic monthly salary, not on their take home pay as stipulated by Law No. 3/1992 on Jamsostek funds.

The law states that a percentage of a person's wage is to be paid to PT Jamsostek. It does not specify whether it is take home pay or basic pay.

"We now demand our rights to our entire insurance claims. Garuda played a trick on us," Hamdani, a former service manager of the airline, said.

According to him, the employees, who voluntarily resigned as per Dec. 1, last year, only received insurance payments of between Rp 800,000 (US$88.80) and Rp 5 million each from PT Jamsostek owing to the fact that Garuda only paid their premiums based on their basic salaries.

He said the employees would have received three times what they did from Jamsostek had the airline paid Jamsostek based on their take home pay, which consisted of basic salary, transportation fees and other allowances.

Carrying posters, the former employees arrived at the headquarters on Jl. Medan Merdeka Selatan at 10 a.m. and also demanded that Garuda provide free health services to all former employees.

Hamdani, who claimed to represent 300 former employees, said many former employees still received free health care, while others, including those who had worked for the airline for 20 years, did not.

The company, he said, only provided health services to former employees who were at least 46 years old.

"It's unfair.

"Many ex-employees get the facility because they're 46 even though they have worked there less than 15 years, while there are others who're under 40 but who have worked there for more than 20 years and yet they are supposedly not entitled," Hamdani said.

He said Garuda usually gave its retirees various facilities, such as free medical treatment, for the rest of their lives.

According to Hamdani, the former employees met with airline executives at the Ministry of Manpower last Friday to discuss their demands.

"During the meeting, Garuda agreed to pay the rest of our insurance claims. But the executives now refuse to meet us," he said.

Garuda spokesman Pujobroto insists that the airline followed standard procedures and lived up to its obligation to its former employees in accordance with existing regulations as required by the ex-employees.

"I can't give the details. But we have acted in accordance to the law," Pujobroto said.

He said 1,596 employees agreed to voluntarily resign on Dec. 1 as part of the company's pension program.

He said the airline also gave severance payments of between Rp 38 million and Rp 170 million, paid insurance claims and other facilities.

"I don't know why they are still dissatisfied. They themselves offered to resign. We didn't force them," he said.

He said more than 2,000 employees asked to resign, but the airline only approved the 1,596 employees. (jun)