Golden Key Group's staff brace for dismissal
Golden Key Group's staff brace for dismissal
JAKARTA (JP): Some 200 workers at a giant petrochemical
project belonging to Eddy Tansil have been advised they'll soon
be looking for new jobs, as it is unlikely that the project will
be completed with their boss still on trial for corruption.
Abdul Hanan, the local union representative for PT Cilegon
Multiwahana in Serang, West Java, said he had told the workers to
be prepared to have their employment terminated any time soon.
The company is an affiliate of the Golden Key Group which is
owned by Tansil, currently on trial in Jakarta on charges of
embezzling around $448 million from the government-owned Bank
Pembangunan Indonesia (Bapindo).
The 200 workers have been virtually idle since Tansil was
arrested in February and the project's future put on the line.
Earlier there had been suggestions that the government or
other companies would take over the project but the workers have
not heard anything since.
The workers have not been paid since April, according to
Abdul.
Terminating their employment is probably the best solution for
them instead of waiting to see whether or not they will receive
their salary, he said as reported by the Antara news agency.
The workers, and colleagues from two other Golden Key Group
affiliates, brought their case to the attention of the House of
Representatives in Jakarta last month.
Abdul said that he is now negotiating for the possibility of
giving severance pay as well as the April salaries to the
workers.
Management had earlier requested that the workers simply quit
their jobs and impose no demands. This was firmly rejected by the
workers.
Rp 75 million
The combined monthly payroll for the 200 workers amounts to Rp
75 million, Abdul said.
In Jakarta meanwhile, it was disclosed in court that Tansil
had used a large chunk of his Bapindo loans to buy stocks and
other commercial papers in contravention of the terms of the
loans, which were to finance the petrochemical projects in
Serang.
President director of Danamon securities Yohanes Susilo
testified at the trial of Tansil in the Central Jakarta District
Court that his company sold Rp 29.5 billion ($13.7 million) worth
of commercial papers to Indriana, Tansil's wife.
When the question was asked of Tansil, he confirmed that the
money came from the Bapindo loans.
Yohanes admitted that the sum invested by Indriana was
"unusually large" for his company.
Other bank executives also testified in Tansil's trial
yesterday.
Budi Santoso of Bank Bumi Daya, also a state bank, said as one
of the members of the loan syndicate that financed Tansil's
project, he found it unusual that the buyer and the supplier for
the goods had the same address. (05)