Idul Fitri allowance compulsory, says Latief
Idul Fitri allowance compulsory, says Latief
JAKARTA (JP): Manpower Minister Abdul Latief yesterday called on his subordinates to take stern action against companies which failed to pay their workers their Idul Fitri allowances.
Workers deserve to be paid Idul Fitri allowances and the companies have no reason to withhold it, Latief said here yesterday during a ceremony to inaugurate Jack Iskandar Ratubagus as new director general for labor placement. Jack replaced Abdul Rachim who went into his retirement age of 60.
The law stipulates that owners of companies who do not pay their workers their allowances face up to three years imprisonment or fines of up to Rp 100,000 (US$45).
Latief earlier said a postponement is only tolerable if the company in question faces financial troubles. The company, however, must report this to his office in order to obtain a respite, he said.
The ministry will then send an audit team to the company to study the case and to decide what steps should be taken -- either to pay the allowance at a later date or pay half of the amount immediately.
The minister earlier instructed companies to pay their workers their Idul Fitri allowances on Feb. 6 at the latest.
A more recent decision, however, allows companies to pay the allowance one week before the Idul Fitri holiday, which falls on Feb. 20.
Kuradis Siregar, an official of the Jakarta office of the Manpower Ministry, told The Jakarta Post yesterday that past experience has shown that in many cases workers who received their allowances too early displayed a decrease in productivity while many of them did not even come to work.
Strikes involving more than 2,000 workers last week affected three companies in Jakarta and Bekasi, 30 km East of here.
Some 300 workers of PT Sinintama Garmentinto in West Jakarta, about 2,000 workers of PT Sushinindo Elok Sunshinindo Elok Cemerlang, a garment and shoe factory in North Jakarta, and an undisclosed number of workers at PT Mulia Industrindo in Bekasi went on strike, demanding payment of their Idul Fitri allowances.
The head of the West Jakarta office of the Ministry of Manpower, R.L. Sihite, told the Post yesterday that PT Sinintama Garmentindo, the last company to comply, was expected today to pay its workers their allowances.
He said his office has refused the company's request for a postponement until Thursday, Feb 15. "They must pay it tomorrow or we will file a lawsuit against them," Sihite said.
The company's 300 workers had been on strike since last Thursday, demanding their Idul Fitri allowances and an increase in their wages, which they said still averaged below the officially set regional minimum salary level.
"The workers will start working again today after they have been assured that they will get the allowances tomorrow," Sihite said.
Officials said they were still studying the cases of the other two strike affected companies. (03)