Padang labor revolt continues

Kasparman, The Jakarta Post, Padang, West Sumatra

Thousands of workers from cement producer Semen Padang prohibited on Monday the firm's new management team and parent company Semen Gresik's president, Satriyo from entering the Semen Padang compound as a means of expressing their rejection of the new managers in favor of their fired executives.

The workers carried out their actions by blocking the firm's main entrance gate beginning at 10 a.m.

Satriyo, Semen Padang's new president Dwi Sutjipto and the firm's Chief Commissioner Ismet Yuzairi, who were guarded by two platoons of police officers, insisted upon entering the compound, but they failed to do so.

"Nobody from Semen Gresik is allowed to enter this company (Semen Padang)," shouted an employee of the West Sumatra-based cement producer.

As a compromise could not be reached at the entrance gate, they later agreed to hold a dialog in a multipurpose building near the compound.

In the dialog, the workers demanded total and immediate separation from Gresik.

They also asked the new management team of Semen Padang, who froze the company's accounts, to reinstate them.

However, the new management team refused to fulfill the second demand, saying it was only possible if they were welcomed by the workers to lead the firm.

With both sides insisting on their requirements, there was no final agreement reached at the dialog. Satriyo and the new management team of Semen Padang finally left the building under tight security.

Despite the protest, cement production at Semen Padang seemed to be running normally.

Semen Padang's new management team has not begun working yet due to all the protests, even though they were voted in on May 12 at Semen Gresik's extraordinary shareholders meeting, which decided to oust Semen Padang's rebellious top executives for opposing government plans to sell Semen Gresik shares to Mexican cement giant Cemex.

The sale of Semen Padang is part of the government's privatization program.

The former management was demanding a spin-off from Gresik, and now claims the reshuffle was illegitimate.

The lame-duck executives, led by Ikhdan Nizar, have insisted on running the firm despite Semen Gresik's decision to fire all of them.

The Padang Municipal Administration said on Saturday it could lose up to Rp 13.6 billion (US$1.6 million) in taxes from the firm in 2003 because banks legally must reject all checks issued by the firm's defiant executives.

Meanwhile, Desri Ayunda one of the rebellious executives who had the title of corporate secretary, said the company had repaid a US$ 7.9 million debt to ABN Amro bank.

He also denied Satriyo's accusation that Semen Padang had not yet repaid other debts valued at more than Rp 600 billion, saying that the company's remaining debt was only Rp 392 billion.