Govt rejects Nikko dismissals

Govt rejects Nikko dismissals

JAKARTA: Dozens of employees of the Nikko Hotel in Central
Jakarta and members of the Federation of Independent Workers
Union took to the streets on Tuesday to hail the manpower
agency's decision to reject the dismissal of 237 employees of the
hotel.

The demonstrators staged performances at the Hotel Indonesia
traffic circle, which slowed traffic from about 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

They also urged the hotel's management to rehire the dismissed
workers in compliance with the agency's decision.

Nikko Hotel's management claimed that it suffered losses in
2002 and 2003 and had too many employees. The hotel's worker
union said the hotel earned a profit of up to Rp 1.4 billion
(US$150,537) last year and had an occupancy rate of over 70
percent.

A total of 75.97 percent of the shares in the hotel were sold
by the Office of the State Minister for State Enterprises through
the old management of PT Wisma Nusantara Internasional to
Singapore-based PT Guthrie Logistic Private Limited on Dec. 13,
2002.-- JP