Government to grant Rp 2 billion to PPD company

Government to grant Rp 2 billion to PPD company

JAKARTA (JP): The Ministry of Communications has promised to
allocate Rp 2 billion to state-owned Perum PPD bus company for
the improvement of both its employee's welfare and its
operations, a senior official at the ministry said on Monday.

"The ministry will soon submit a budget proposal to the
Ministry of Finance worth Rp 2 billion," said acting
communications ministry spokesman Rukmalan Soemantri.

A large portion of the funds will be used to meet workers
demands for a 120 percent salary increase, while the rest will be
used on bus maintenance, he said.

According to Rukmalan, who used to be the head of the
ministry's media and press relations department, a joint team
comprising representatives of the Ministry of Communications,
Perum PPD employee representatives and the bus company's board of
directors are still discussing the details of the proposal.

"The team is prudently calculating the amount of salary
hikes," he said.

He said the funds would eventually run out and in turn the
company would be forced to improve its operations and strive to
be a healthy and independent company.

"The company should be self-reliant so that it can afford the
burden of employees' wages on its own," he said.

Two days of protests by Perum PPD workers ended on Tuesday
after employee representatives met Minister of Communications
Giri Suseno Hadihardjono at the minister's office in Central
Jakarta.

Stunned by Monday and Tuesday's strike, the minister promised
the protesters that affirmative action would be taken immediately
to solve the problem.

On Tuesday, the minister and Perum PPD's board of directors
agreed to employees' demand for a 120 percent salary hike, which
will be implemented in stages over a six-month period starting
with July salaries.

In a letter signed by top executives of the company, members
of the board of directors vowed they would resign if they failed
to keep their promise.

Giri acknowledged on Tuesday that the company had not made a
profit for a decade, and implied there had been no increase in
employees' salaries for seven years.

Giri said the company had 1,200 buses, but only a half of them
were operational. With 7,000 employees, mostly drivers and
conductors, Perum PPD provides transportation services in Greater
Jakarta.(asa)