Pertamina workers to go on strike

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Thousands of workers at state oil and gas company Pertamina say they will hold a nationwide strike on Wednesday in protest against a plan for massive layoffs.

Pertamina president Widya Purnama recently signed a decision aimed at terminating some 4,015 contract workers in the company.

"We have received confirmation from several regions (to join) the nationwide strike on Wednesday," chairman of the Pertamina labor union (FSPPB) Ugan Gandar told Antara on Tuesday.

FSPPB has some 17,000 members.

He said that the strike was aimed solely at defending the interests of workers, some of whom have been with the company for around 20 years.

Ugan said that the strike would be held at all units of Pertamina in 19 working areas including Pangkalan Brandan and Medan (North Sumatra), Tanjung Uban and Dumai (Riau), Plaju (South Sumatra), Balongan and Kamojang (West Java), Cilacap, Cepu, and Semarang (Central Java), Bontang (East Kalimantan), and Sorong (Papua).

Antara has reported that employees in several regions such as Cilacap, Balongan, and Cepu had already set up tents in their working areas in preparation for the strike.

In Jakarta, workers plan to conduct a protest march from Pertamina headquarters on Jl. Medan Merdeka Timur to the Office of the State Ministry of State Enterprises, the State Palace, the Hotel Indonesia roundabout, and ending at the Office of the Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration.

Thousands of the company's contract workers have been restive following the issuance of the Pertamina president's decision on July 26, 2005 to dismiss non-permanent workers.

The labor union had previously sent a letter to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, asking him to revoke the decision, which is deemed in violation of Law No. 13/2003, which does not permit unilateral mass dismissals.

According to the decree, the contract workers would receive severance payment whose size would depend on their length of service to the company. Workers employed for less than four years would receive compensation of two month's salary, while those employed for more than 20 years would receive compensation of nine times their salary.