PDAM Jaya employees quit jobs with foreign partners

PDAM Jaya employees quit jobs with foreign partners

JAKARTA (JP): Scores of employees with city water company PDAM
Jaya's partners -- PT Pam Lyonnaise Jaya (Palyja) and PT Thames
Jaya (TPJ) -- stopped work on Friday to protest the companies'
operations.

Moerdiyanto, chairman of the PDAM Jaya labor union, said the
strategy was taken to push the city administration to cancel the
cooperation on water management with the two joint venture
companies.

"We want a return to PDAM Jaya being the highest authority in
managing tap water in the city. Furthermore, we were never
assigned to work for TPJ or Palyja, because our contracts are for
PT Garuda Dipta Semesta (GDS) and PT Kekar Pola Airindo (Kati),"
he said.

These two companies were the old partners of PDAM Jaya before
they were replaced by TPJ and Palyja.

GDS was owned by former president Soeharto's crony Anthony
Salim, who cooperated with Lyonnaise des Eaux of France to manage
water distribution in the western part of the city, while Kati
was a joint venture company between Soeharto's son Sigit
Hardjojudanto and Thames Water International of Britain and
managed the eastern part of the city.

The administration canceled the cooperation with Kati and GDS
to reduce corruption to appease demands of the reform movement
that toppled Soeharto on May 21, last year.

Moerdiyanto said PDAM Jaya president Rama Boedi should take
the employees back because it was Rama who assigned them to GDS
and Kati.

Out of 3,000 PDAM Jaya employees, 1,500 are assigned to work
with Palyja; 1,300 with TPJ and the remaining 200 at the PDAM
Jaya headquarters.

Since April 8, PDAM Jaya employees have staged rallies
demanding that the joint ventures be canceled, saying the
contracts are illegal. The protests initially started over higher
wages paid to employees at company headquarters compared to those
working at the joint ventures.

Palyja commissioner Bernard Lafrogne said Palyja would let go
those unwilling to work for the company.

"We can't force them if they don't like it. Moreover, the
number of employees is too big," he told The Jakarta Post.

Separately, city councilors Amarullah Asbah and Saud Rahman
urged Governor Sutiyoso to solve the dispute as soon as possible.

"There is an impression that Sutiyoso just lets the case go
on," said Amarullah.

He also said it was time for the Ministry of Home Affairs to
help the administration handle the problem, explaining that the
demonstration had caused losses to city residents. (ind)