Injustices in PT Tripatra
Injustices in PT Tripatra
Eight thousand Indonesian Prosperity Labor Union (SBSI)
members at PT Tripatra were summarily dismissed from their jobs
on July 6, after an 8-month struggle for fair compensation. The
company -- a transportation and construction supplier for CalTex
at Duri, Central Sumatra -- has obstructed attempts by workers to
receive fair unemployment compensation since September 1998, and
has ignored a Ministry of Manpower ruling for full compensation
since May 1999.
The PT Tripatra case is stunning in its proportions. The
company, a contractor for the U.S. oil giant, has violated
Indonesian labor laws, ignored rulings from the Ministry of
Manpower's national offices -- and has employed the military and
police to intimidate workers. In doing so, it has put the lives
of 8,000 workers and their families on the line.
SBSI Chairman Muchtar Pakpahan went to Duri on July 7 -- one
day after the workers were fired -- to seek a fair resolution. He
was rebuffed by management and denied a meeting with the
company's acting resident manager, Rusty Irons. There is nothing
unreasonable about the workers' claim. Rather, it is
unconscionable that the company would throw so many workers and
their families into unthinkable hardship for little financial
gain.
The workers -- considered temporary employees -- were laid-off
from PT Tripatra in September 1998 after the contractor's 5-year
contract with CalTex was up, and then were rehired under a new 5-
year contract. Indonesian labor law defines temporary employees
as workers who work for less than two years at the same job. Yet
PT Tripatra insists on diminishing their entitlements by calling
its full-time employees "temporary".
The SBSI -- with 12,000 members at PT Tripatra and an
additional 10,000 at other CalTex contractors -- represents two-
thirds of CalTex contract workers. The lock-out threatens the
livelihoods of all CalTex contract workers. If PT Tripatra
succeeds in shutting out the 8,000 workers at Duri, other CalTex
contractor employees risk the same treatment.
On May 12, the Ministry of Manpower ruled that PT Tripatra
must pay 100 percent compensation as required by law. The sums
amount to US$200 per employee, per year of service. Small stakes
for a contractor of a U.S. oil giant. Yet CalTex managing
director J.G. Fitzgerald sent a letter to PT Tripatra on June 25,
backing the company's decision to enforce the "no work, no pay"
policy used to lock-out the strikers.
Fifty of the PT Tripatra workers have come to Jakarta this
week to press their case. They are here to lobby the Ministry of
Manpower, members of the House of Representatives and to seek
support from other trade unions for their cause. They will
continue their protest -- in Indonesia and internationally --
until PT Tripatra rescinds the firings and gives them the fair
treatment they deserve.
PAUL KEYS
Jakarta