Garuda's management reports pilots to police

Garuda's management reports pilots to police

Arya Abhiseka, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The pay dispute between Garuda Indonesia and its pilots has
deepened following the company's stunning decision on Sunday to
report the pilots to police.

The management arrived at National Police Headquarters,
calling for an investigation into a possible violation of the law
by the pilots in their plan to strike on Tuesday.

Garuda spokesman Pujobroto said the airline had a wide range
of operations, which could be disrupted by strikes.

"We requested legal protection from police to avoid a larger
negative impact, considering that we have about 130 daily
flights, serving the needs of public transportation and logistic
shipments," he said.

The largest state-owned airline serves a total of 21 domestic
routes and 25 international routes.

The pilots initially planned to strike late last month but
Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Jacob Nuwa Wea vowed to
mediate and the pilots returned to the negotiation table.

But, several days ago, the pilots left talks, warning of their
plan to launch a full strike on Tuesday.

However, Garuda Pilot Association president Ari Sapari told a
radio station on Sunday that they would not strike but only
launch industrial action to delay flights.

Pujobroto said that in the last phase of negotiations, the
management agreed to pay the pilots and co-pilots at an amount
slightly lower than their demands but the pilots stuck to their
demands.

According to a press statement from Garuda, the pilots
demanded co-pilots be paid between Rp 6.9 million (US$775) and Rp
11.9 million per month and pilots between Rp 13.8 million and Rp
24.1 million per month. Meanwhile, the management offered between
Rp 6.5 million and Rp 11.3 million per month for co-pilots and
between Rp 13.1 million and Rp 22.7 million per month for pilots.

Co-pilots are currently paid between Rp 3.9 million and Rp
17.2 million per month and pilots between Rp 5.5 million and Rp
22.5 million per month.

Pujobroto said management refused to fully meet the pilots's
demands because it would create a bigger salary gap between
pilots and the rest of the employees.

"Their demands would simply create disharmony, which we cannot
allow to happen in our working environment," he said.

Garuda Indonesia has recently recovered from financial crisis
and last year managed to post a Rp 417 billion profit.

However, it still has $880 million in total debt, payable from
2003 through till 2010.