Hundreds suffer Idul Fitri bonus misery

JAKARTA (JP): Hundreds of workers have missed out on their annual Idul Fitri bonus this year after at least five medium companies in the city failed to make the payments, an official said yesterday.

The head of the City Manpower Agency's supervision and control division, Soekoyo, said the five companies recently disclosed their inability to comply with government regulations.

"We're still arranging a meeting between the workers and their employers to solve the problem," he said.

"If it fails, we'll intervene and suggest the possibility of postponing the payment of the Idul Fitri allowance."

Soekoyo, however, refused to name the companies or indicate the precise number of workers affected. But, he insisted that none of the firms had announced bankruptcy.

Fifteen other city firms have informed the manpower agency they face similar difficulties but company executives have promised to pay the bonuses for Idul Fitri, which is to fall late next week, he said.

The country's ailing economy and the ongoing decline in the value of the rupiah against the U.S. dollar will lead to widespread unemployment and bankruptcy, media reports have said.

According to Soekoyo, an agency program launched last week to monitor the financial state of 1,250 firms operating in the city led to the detection of the 20 troubled firms.

"We monitor the small, medium and large companies based on their history of employment and their financial condition.

"This method is considered more effective because we could not possibly supervise all of the companies in Jakarta."

Soekoyo refused to elaborate on the agency's latest findings.

"We are still working on it and encouraging some companies to come to a reasonable agreement about Idul Fitri allowances with their employees. Hopefully, the matter will be solved without any chaos."

Based on the Ministry of Manpower regulation No. 04/Men/1994 about bonuses for the religious festive season, it is the employer's duty to pay workers a bonus. The bonus is set at a minimum of one month's pay.

"Therefore, the issue becomes very sensitive because if the employers fail to do so, the workers tend to protest," Soekoyo said.

Ignorance

Dozens of workers protested last year and most were provoked by misunderstandings between workers and their employers, he said.

"For instance, there were companies which gave less than a month's pay for the religious festive bonus. Because of their ignorance, the workers ended up protesting and calling for higher allowances."

Based on an agency report, some mayoralties have encountered difficulties in monitoring companies within their respective areas due to a lack of human resources.

"Too many companies need to be supervised. Therefore, we urged the workers and the companies to come to our office quickly so we could work things out properly," Harris Sadiminarto, spokesman for the East Jakarta office of the manpower agency, said.

In East Jakarta alone, there are 2,900 companies, ranging from service corporations to manufacturing industries, he said.

Officially, Jakarta is home to 25,000 companies.

When asked to comment, city councilor Soeparmo of Commission E for social welfare said the workers needs must come first.

"I understand that employers and workers are experiencing the same difficult situation here. The workers need the money for their family and the employers get dizzy just thinking about how to meet their obligations," he told The Jakarta Post yesterday.

"Therefore, I suggest all companies initiate fair and transparent dialogs with their employees about the companies' condition. This is important to avoid unnecessary chaos triggered by protests or rallies," Soeparmo said. (edt)