Negotiation on BNI labor dispute turn violent

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.