Keris Group office sealed off
Keris Group office sealed off
Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The office of the Keris Group, which produces batik garments, on
the seventh floor of the Panin Building on Jl. Sudirman was
sealed off on Monday, while about 1,500 fired workers of PT Doson
Indonesia picketed in front of the 14-story building.
The building management, PT Terminal Builders, sealed off the
office because Handiman Tjokro Saputro, the owner of the Keris
Group and the majority shareholder of PT Doson Indonesia, a
subcontractor of shoe manufacturer Nike, failed to meet with the
picketing workers, who are demanding their severance pay.
"I was forced to suspend your lease unilaterally and seal your
office at 2 p.m. until your internal problems are resolved," PT
Terminal Builders announced in a letter to Handiman, which was
signed by building manager Bambang B. Setiawan.
About 1,500 Doson Indonesian workers gathered in front of the
Panin building at 9 a.m. on Monday. They said they would spend
the night in the building, but the police threatened them with
arrest if they did not leave the building by 6 p.m.
Bambang said the building management sealed the Keris Group
office because other building tenants were complaining about the
rally.
The demonstration was peaceful and there were no complaints of
violence, but the workers took over much of the building's
parking lot.
The workers left the building at 7:30 p.m., transported back
to Tangerang aboard 20 buses provided by PT Terminal Builders.
They promised to organize more demonstrations at other locations.
The workers, led by Indonesian Textile, Garment and Leather
Workers Union chairman Joko Haryono and his deputy Uci Suwandi,
said they only wanted a portion of their severance pay so they
could afford to celebrate Idul Fitri.
"We hope that each of us can receive about Rp 1 million as a
down payment on our severance pay. But it seems Handiman is not
willing to give us this," Joko told The Jakarta Post, adding that
the company closed not because of bankruptcy but because of an
internal dispute in the management.
As many as 6,081 people laid off by PT Doson are demanding
compensation. Joko said the total compensation expected by the
workers was about Rp 62 billion, while the assets of PT Doson
Indonesia totaled about Rp 300 billion.
The dispute began when Nike halted its shoe orders from PT
Doson Indonesia on July 16. Responding to Nike's decision, PT
Doson Indonesia closed down on Sept. 23.
The workers rejected a settlement decision by the Central
Workers Dispute Settlement Committee, which stipulated that the
amount of severance pay a worker received depended on how many
years they had been with the company. For example, a worker who
had been with the company one year would receive a month's
salary, two years two month's salary, and so forth.
But the decision was overturned by the Ministry of Manpower
and Transmigration, which ordered PT Doson to double the
severance pay.
The company has refused to comply with the ministry's
decision.