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