Hotel Nikko workers face dismissal

JAKARTA: A total of 217 workers from Hotel Nikko, formerly President Hotel, on Jl. Thamrin, Central Jakarta, face dismissal due to financial losses suffered by the management.

Hotel workers union chairman Nurbukhori Effendi said on Monday that the workers rejected the dismissal and denied that the hotel had suffered a financial loss.

"Hotel Nikko has the highest occupancy rate here of over 70 percent. Its income is over Rp 8 billion (US$909,090)," he said.

The decision to dismiss the workers occurred after the government sold shares in the company to PT Guthrie Logistic Private Ltd. on Dec. 13, 2002. PT Guthrie dominates ownership of the hotel with a 75.97 percent shareholding, followed by PT Mitsui & Co. (21.36 percent) and PT JAL Hotels Co. (2.67 percent). -- JP