Former HI, Hotel Wisata employees may be rehired
Leony Aurora, Jakarta
The conflict between Hotel Indonesia and Inna Wisata Hotel workers' union and the hotels' old management is seeing a resolution with both sides in agreement that former employees will be given priority by the new management when hiring begins.
However, only some 276 employees who until now are still rejecting their dismissal will receive such treatment, said the union's secretary-general Soeryanto on Tuesday after a meeting with the management, manpower agency officials and House of Representatives member Rekso Ageng Herman.
"Those who have already received severance pay will not get this privilege," said Soeryanto.
Some 1,300 employees were dismissed following the takeover of both hotels from PT Hotel Indonesia Natour by PT Cipta Karya Bumi Indah (CKBI), a subsidiary of cigarette giant Djarum group.
Under a 30-year build-operate-transfer scheme, PT CKBI, with an investment of US$150 million, will replace Inna Wisata with a super mall and renovate Hotel Indonesia in keeping with its original design. The projects will take one to two years to finish.
The dismissed workers demanded to be rehired after the renovation is finished, claiming there will be between 8,000 and 10,000 new job openings in the hotel and new mall.
Herman, who instigated Tuesday's meeting, said that he would sit on the management's team to select eligible employees as requested by the union.
Although the meeting has resolved several issues, some other problems still need to be worked out.
"The union needs to talk to its members about the options offered while the management has to consult the investor," said Herman, declining to elaborate on the remaining problems discussed in the meeting.
Soeryanto hinted that other problems included the amount of severance pay, saying that the union had to recalculate its demand. "I can't say how much we're asking for," he told The Jakarta Post.
The old management had agreed to give severance pay to dismissed employees of up to 150 percent of what they would be entitled to under Article 156 of Law No. 13/2003 on manpower.
Despite this decision, the union would try to get an even higher amount, said Soeryanto. "The employees' salaries were below the standard of five-star hotels."
For example, Soeryanto said, as a cost control manager he received Rp 1.2 million ($139.53) a month while a manager in other hotels would be paid between Rp 5 million and Rp 6 million a month.
Soeryanto further said that even though the employees would be rehired, they would still receive severance pay.
"The payment and rehiring are totally separate ... one is conducted by the old management and the other by the new one," he added.
Another bipartite meeting between the hotels' board of directors and the union is set to take place on Thursday. If this meeting fails, another one has been scheduled for Friday at the House with Herman as mediator.