Garuda fires 233 technicians

Evi Mariani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Months of dispute between Garuda Indonesia and a number of its technicians took a turn for the worse on Friday when the national carrier announced it would dismiss 233 maintenance technicians.

Garuda spokesman Pujobroto, in a statement, said the technicians had continued to refuse to be transferred to a Garuda subsidiary as of Thursday's deadline.

"... Garuda Indonesia is currently laying-off employees who refuse to join GMFAA (PT Garuda Maintenance Facility Aero Asia)," he said.

Pujobroto said that as Garuda did not have a maintenance unit any longer as it was shifted to GMFAA, the carrier would not need the technicians any longer.

The dispute began when Garuda asked its technicians working for its maintenance unit to move to GMFAA, owned 99 percent by Garuda.

The move was part of a government 2002-2006 restructuring masterplan forcing state-owned companies to focus on their core businesses.

In Garuda case, the carrier has to focus on its flight services and has to spin-off its other businesses, including the maintenance unit.

However in May, as many as 641 technicians from Garuda's Aircraft Technicians Association (ITPU) threatened to strike, refusing to be transferred. They said that GMFAA was a relatively new company offering no clear business plans or no certainty for its employees' future.

Garuda shrugged off the threat, saying it had another 1,300 licensed technicians who could handle the ITPU technicians' job.

The release said the lay-off process would be carried out until Aug. 31.

"In carrying out the lay-off process, Garuda will give the employees' rights based on Law No.13/2003 on labor."