Hundreds suffer Idul Fitri bonus misery

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)