IPTN employees return to work
JAKARTA (JP): Thousands of employees of state-owned aircraft manufacturer PT IPTN in Bandung returned to work yesterday after staging a strike since last Wednesday demanding better welfare.
Antara reported that the situation at the manufacturer's compound had returned to normal. Workers were no longer seen huddled together or standing before the "free speech forum" erected in the lobby to vent their protest.
"Most have returned to their units, although not all have started working," the news agency quoted some employees as saying.
The compound was no longer plastered with posters, effigies and white banners that last Thursday and Friday were unfurled in protest over allegedly poor working conditions.
"Things are returning to normal," Antara quoted an unidentified company spokesperson as saying.
Security officers stopped foreign and local reporters from entering the complex, even if only to confirm information derived from workers when they were still outside the compound.
Some workers said that IPTN president B.J. Habibie had agreed to conduct yet another meeting this morning with the workers to discuss their 14-point "Petition of Concern".
The petition is a list of demands that was delivered to Habibie last Friday. The demands include the abolition of an incentive for all employees, a 200 percent pay rise starting Oct. 1 and unlimited medical expenses for workers and their families.
The workers also demanded that the Foundation of Civil Servants' Pension Fund be directly accountable to workers and that its reports be audited by the public accountant.
They also demanded that promotion be based on a person's achievement, not his or her relationship with the employers or company executives. The workers also demanded the dismissal of IPTN executives who have been proven guilty of manipulation and collusion.
During the meeting Friday, Habibie said he sympathized with employees' wage demands but said the company lacked the financial resources to meet them.
While saying he understood the rising daily needs of his employees, Habibie said it would be difficult to meet demands for a 200 percent to 300 percent pay rise.
Three thousand employees of the aircraft company went on strike Wednesday demanding a general improvement of welfare.
Habibie, who is also State Minister of Research and Technology, said the company was already forking out Rp 25 billion (US$6.9 million) for maintenance and wages each month.
He said Rp 15 billion went toward the salary of IPTN's 16,000 employees while the rest was for paying electricity bills and other maintenance costs. (swe)