Negotiation on BNI labor dispute turn violent

Ridwan Max Sijabat, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The tripartite negotiations between the management of publicly listed Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI) and its contract-based workers with mediation from government officials ended in chaos on Monday as the management proposed to lay off all the temporary workers, instead of keeping some of them as was earlier discussed.

Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Jacob Nuwa Wea, who was trying to mediate, adjourned the meeting indefinitely when the situation turned into a full-blown brouhaha in the meeting room at the ministry building in South Jakarta.

Rina Fitrianti, representing the BNI workers in the negotiations, slammed a pile of documents down on the table while a number of workers with her began directing coarse language in the general direction of BNI president Saefuddin Hasan, who had just informed them of the dismissal plans and was trying to tell them about the severance pay package. Minister Nuwa Wea asked the BNI management to keep most of the nearly 500 workers in question, on the payroll.

Rina had apparently had enough of the proposal to lay off all the workers and screamed at the president: "Your management has no commitment to settle this labor issue peacefully. The management is not professional and quite corrupt. You have been unprofessional and now you want to fire us to cover your corrupt acts," she told Saefuddin who was then escorted by members his staff out to his car.

The professionally attired BNI workers, mostly women, surrounded Saefuddin's black luxury vehicle hurling insults at the beleaguered president. After he shut the door and rolled up the black tinted windows, the workers began kicking the vehicle with an array of high-heeled pumps and office brogues while screaming hysterically. The car was damaged slightly. Saefuddin's chauffeur then zoomed away from the ministry compound after security guards managed to clear the workers away from the front of the vehicle.

After a series of meetings in recent weeks, the BNI management was expected to announce on Monday the list of workers who would continue working after their contract expired.

"We are very disappointed with the management's decision (to dismiss all of them), which is contrary to the agreement reached in previous negotiations," said Rina.

Minister Nuwa Wea said that according to Law No. 13/2003 on labor protection, the management had the right to end contracts with temporary workers and those supplied by temporary agencies, but he expected BNI to continue employing many of them based on social concerns.

"BNI has the authority not to extend contracts with the workers, but they should act wisely and promote those who have been there for three years to a permanent status," he said.

Rina, also chairman for the Team of Struggle for Contract- based BNI Workers, accused the management of violating the labor law by making contracts with workers employed in permanent jobs, as well as alleging discrimination in the handling of the case.

"The minister should take the management to court for violating the law," she said.

She also gave an example of alleged nepotism by the management, which promoted Saefuddin's sister-in-law, despite the fact that her academic performance was far below the administrative requirements for the position she was given.

Neither Saefuddin nor BNI Worker's Union Chairman Max Neode were available for comment after the heated meeting.