Grand Hyatt staff stage protest over service charge

JAKARTA (JP): At least 500 employees of the luxurious five- star Grand Hyatt Jakarta hotel staged a protest in the hotel's lobby on Monday afternoon to demand that money worth Rp 709 million (US$64,454) collected from the service charge be returned to them.

Attired in their respective uniforms, the protesters -- including bell boys, kitchen staff and waitresses -- sat on the polished floor of the lobby and listened carefully to speeches delivered by their leaders.

A number of banners were unfurled on the stairs, including some written in English that read: "Where's our Money" and "Give Back our Share."

Hotel guests, mostly foreigners, appeared unfazed by the demonstration, which began at 3 p.m. Some guests sipped at drinks in the lobby and looked on while the speeches were delivered.

The protesters' spokesman Isep Saiful said they demanded the money, which the hotel management calls the Lost and Breakage Fund, be returned immediately to the employees.

"It's our money which was collected between January to July," Isep said.

He said the management cuts 10 percent from the service charge for the so-called Lost and Breakage Fund.

The money is used to replace breakages and lost items, Isep said.

During the first six months of this year the hotel management collected approximately Rp 800 million for the fund, he said, adding that to date it had only used Rp 91 million to replace lost and damaged items.

The employees demand the remaining Rp 709 million be returned to them, Isep said.

The protesters want Rp 500 million to be reimbursed this month and the remaining Rp 209 million to be paid in December.

The luxurious hotel, which has been home to many important international figures during their visits to the country, is owned by the publicly-listed PT Plaza Indonesia Realty, a company partly owned by former president Soeharto's son Bambang Trihatmodjo.

The hotel currently employs a workforce of 1,200 people.

Grand Hyatt's public relations manager Renata Sofjan said she regretted the demonstration staged by her colleagues and was concerned it would disturb the guests.

"If the guests are disturbed, our service charge will fall. We, the employees, will suffer a loss," Renata said.

She explained the management did not mean to withhold the money and said the matter was still being discussed.

"They (the protesting workers) are not being patient. It's probably because of the monetary crisis," she said.

Isep, who is also the deputy chairman of the hotel workers' union, said the employees had lost their patience with the management and felt they had no choice but to hold the demonstration.

At 6 p.m., when contacted by The Jakarta Post, Isep said the management had promised to meet their demands and that all employees had resumed work. (jun)