Jakarta Hospital paramedics complain over suspension

JAKARTA (JP): Thirty employees from Jakarta Hospital told the City Council on Tuesday that they were suspended from their jobs after forming a labor union.

The head nurse in the intensive care unit at the hospital, Ophet Emanora, who is also the chairwoman of the Nurses and Paramedics Labor Union, told councillors from Commission E for social welfare that the decision was made to form the union because of the wide pay gap between hospital employees and directors.

The directors were hired by the Jakarta Hospital Foundation for the 1999 to 2002 period.

"The previous directors were transparent in deciding the salary structure, but not the current directors. They increased their own salaries to over Rp 10 million, while many of the employees' monthly salaries are below the minimum wage set by the government," Ophet was quoted by Antara as saying.

She said a nurse who had worked at the hospital for five years received Rp 296,000 a month, far below the monthly minimum wage of Rp 426,000 in the capital.

Another employee, Tiomsi Tambunan, who has been working at the hospital for 31 years, receives Rp 560,000 a month.

Because of what they believe is an unfair salary structure, the employees established the labor union to fight for an improvement in their welfare.

According to Ophet, the hospital management suspended her because of her activities with the union. Other employees protested her suspension and signed a petition demanding the dismissal of the directors, salary increases and the reinstatement of Ophet.

The directors responded by ordering the hospital's 361 employees to fill out forms stating their compliance with all hospital regulations.

Thirty employees who failed to return the forms on time were suspended.

"After we were suspended, we were treated like criminals," Ophet said.

She said they were not free to enter the hospital, and if they did they were followed by security guards.

Hospital director Emmi Salman said the management suspended the employees in accordance with proper procedures. He also said the management had consulted with the provincial manpower office and the Jakarta Hospital Foundation before ordering the suspensions.

Emmi said the employees staged a protest against the hospital management because of employee transfers and demotions, and the recruitment of new employees, all of which were carried out after management received the results of a Strength, Weakness, Opportunity and Threat analysis.

He also underlined that the employees should respect the right of the hospital to continue treating patients during this dispute.

The deputy chairman of Commission E, Hasan Ishak, called on the hospital to allow the suspended employees to return to work.

"But we also call upon the employees to cooperate with the management," he said.