Kerosene supply back to normal in Plumpang
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The loading process at the Plumpang fuel depot in North Jakarta returned to normal after state oil and gas company Pertamina agreed to revoke some of the bureaucratic regulations deemed ridiculous by tanker truck drivers.
"We have resumed our activities on Thursday after the depot management agreed to revoke their ridiculous regulations," a driver, Dudung told The Jakarta Post on Friday at the depot.
Drivers of tankers distributing kerosene from the depot went on strike on Wednesday over regulations set by Pertamina on the verification of delivery orders (DO) and the requirements needed to issue drivers' special ID cards.
Pertamina's Domestic Marketing and Distribution Unit in Jakarta (locally known as UPPDN III) handles the Plumpang Depot. The depot serves Jakarta, Banten and West Java provinces.
"We were required to get the verification from the unit's office on Jl. Kramat Raya (Central Jakarta). Such procedures were just a complete waste of our time," said Dudung.
"To make things worse, Pertamina officials in Plumpang and Kramat refused to process our papers, sometimes saying it needed to be done in another office."
The unit's office in Central Jakarta is some 10 kilometers away from the depot.
The drivers not only suffered from the uncertainty of which office should handle their DOs but also from the requirements set to apply for ID cards.
Pertamina required the drivers to fill out eight separate forms, which included the necessity to name their distant relatives of their parents, brothers, sisters and their in-laws.
"Previously, we only had to submit our driving license and our ID card (KTP)," said Dudung.
"But the new regulation also requires us to state the age of our in-laws. How am I supposed to know all the ages of my parents' in-laws? I don't even think my parents know their own age let alone their in-laws'!"
The action only affected drivers distributing kerosene and did not affect other types of fuel. The depot distributes some 11,000 to 12,000 kiloliters of kerosene as well as 7,000 to 8,000 kiloliters of gasoline and some 7,000 to 7,500 kiloliters of diesel fuel daily.