Garment companies hit with strike to reopen

Garment companies hit with strike to reopen

JAKARTA (JP): Two garment companies, PT Rajabrana and PT Wisindo Agung, which stopped activities following a week-long labor strike, have agreed to begin operations again and employ all workers, a senior official said on Tuesday.

"The two companies managements have agreed to begin operations of their factories again on Thursday and all workers, who were involved in the strike, will be allowed to work again," Director General for Industrial Relations and Labor Standards Suwarto told reporters, after a meeting with representatives of the companies managements at his office.

The garment factories, which employ about 7,000 workers, were closed last Saturday, following a strike demanding that the managements not cut their monthly salaries for the income tax payment.

Due to the closures, the workers went to the Bogor Legislative Council to file a protest over the action taken by the managements and to demand reemployment.

Chairman of the Foundation of Legal Guidance for Workers Ariest Merdeka Sirait, who represented the workers in the dispute, blamed the managements for the strike because they enforced the income tax law on all workers whose wages were below the taxable income category.

"The companies have hundreds of married workers whose monthly salaries are below the taxable income group. Moreover, the firms refused to disclose the workers' income taxes paid to the directorate general for tax," Ariest said.

Suwarto said that all citizens, including workers, are obliged to pay income tax to the government.

"Any company refusing to fulfill its obligation will be punished, especially if the firm is found guilty of manipulating their workers' income tax payments," he said.

Director of Labor Standards Tjepy F. Aloewie, who accompanied Suwarto in the meeting, said that, according to the new tax law, the taxable income is set at Rp 1.72 million a year for an unmarried worker and at Rp 2.2 million for a married worker, without children.

"Any unmarried worker, whose monthly salary is above Rp 144,000 is obliged to pay income tax, while a married worker, whose monthly salary is less than Rp 184,000 is not subject to the income tax law," he said.

Suwarto said the managements of the two companies also acknowledged that the labor strike was caused mainly because of unsatisfactory communications with their workers and the local manpower ministry office. (rms)