Govt asks Garuda workers to stay calm

Govt asks Garuda workers to stay calm

JAKARTA: State Minister of State Enterprises Sugiharto called
on national flag carrier Garuda's cabin attendants not to go on
strike, saying their demands were being negotiated.

Sugiharto said the Garuda management had reported the planned
strike to him, but asserted that the government, the major
shareholder of the company, would not intervene in the dispute.

"It's their internal problem. In fact, this industrial dispute
is still being discussed by the cabin crew association, Garuda
and the Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration in tripartite
negotiations. They are supposed to wait for the result of these
negotiations," he said.

More than 2,300 Garuda cabin attendants have threatened to
walk off the job from Aug. 12 to Aug. 14, demanding a salary hike
and other benefits.

The Association of Garuda Cabin Attendants (Ikagi) said the
planned strike was sparked by the Garuda management, which it
said had ignored the employees' demands. It claimed that the
management had discriminated against the cabin crew after it
recently gave pilots and copilots better remuneration packages.
-- JP