PDAM Jaya employees rally at embassies

JAKARTA (JP): At least 300 employees of city tap water company PDAM Jaya rallied at the British and French embassies on Thursday to draw attention to their dispute with the company's foreign partners from the two countries.

Dressed in their uniforms and with headbands stating their cause, the employees visited the British embassy on Jl. Thamrin, Central Jakarta, at about 11 a.m. They left one hour later and headed to the French mission on the same street.

At the embassies, four representatives of the employees met with British Ambassador Robin Christopher and French Ambassador Gerard Cross.

According to the protesters' spokesman Zaenal, the ambassadors understood the dispute and "promised to help solve the problem".

The employees, who have recently held several protests in different locations, repeated their demands for the cancellation of the water management cooperation deals between PDAM Jaya and Thames Water International of Britain -- in a joint venture called TPJ -- and Lyonnaise des Eaux of France in the joint venture Palyja.

"The agreements only bring benefits to the foreign firms. We therefore want the operation of the joint ventures to be returned to PDAM Jaya," Zaenal said.

Employees dispersed peacefully from the French embassy at about 1 p.m. in several PDAM pickups.

In the rallies, the employees also said the foreign firms took over PDAM Jaya's operations without investing any capital in the water firm.

They also complained about allegedly discriminatory treatment of PDAM Jaya's workers compared to the foreign firms' employees.

TPJ and Palyja have repeatedly denied the accusations, saying they have invested huge amounts of money since the signing of the water agreement in February last year.

They also said they increased the basic salaries of the employees and improved their welfare.

A source from the firms said the rally was led by former employees who were dismissed because they committed "wrongdoing". (jun)