FSPM considering supporting strikers

JAKARTA (JP): The Independent Workers Union Federation (FSPM) for Hotels and Restaurants was contemplating calling a national strike to show support for striking workers of Shangri-La Hotel, the federation's president said on Monday.

Speaking at the office of the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH), Isep Saeful Mubarok who is also chairman of Grand Hyatt Hotel's independent workers union, believes that other hotel employees share a common fate with Shangri-La employees.

"For the time being we suggest our members wear black ribbons on their arms. We might also suggest a strike if the problem continues," Isep said.

The Federation comprises workers unions in several five star hotels and restaurants, including Grand Hyatt, Shangri-La, Four Seasons Regent, Hyatt Bandung and Holiday-Inn Bandung. It claims to have 6,000 members.

The strike at the Shangri-La Hotel, which employs 1,114 employees including 990 are union members, began on Dec. 22.

A similar show of solidarity also came from the International Union for Food, Hotels and Restaurants (IUF Asia Pacific).

IUF has sent a protest letter to President Abdurrahman Wahid and Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration Al-Hilal Hamdi.

Isep said IUF Malaysia also promised to press businessman Robert Kuok, who owns the Shangri-La hotel chain, to fulfill the workers' demands.

Meanwhile, Shangri-La's Independent Workers Union (SPMS) Spokesman Budi Susanto said the union refused the dismissal of 420 union members.

"We demand to be reemployed. We also urge that our earlier demands be fulfilled by the hotel's management," Budi said on Monday.

He said the workers mainly demanded a pension program and an equal distribution of the hotel's service charges as stipulated by a decree of the Ministry of Finance No. 2/1999.

He claims that the hotel collects the service charge, amounting to an average of Rp 1.8 billion a month, but distributes it unequally and unclearly. He did not elaborate on the distribution.

"The service charge is our money, according to the decree. It's not part of our salary," Budi said.(jun)