Plywood company fires 2,400 workers

Plywood company fires 2,400 workers

JAKARTA (JP): Some 2,400 workers, dismissed without warning on Monday by plywood manufacturer PT Dayak Besar in East Kalimantan, began moving out of their barracks yesterday.

Mothers carried their babies and men their belongings as the former employees left their makeshift accommodation in Palaran village, near the East Kalimantan capital Samarinda, under the watchful eyes of security officers.

"Several pregnant mothers were seen walking out of the compound, carrying cardboard boxes containing household utensils with their under-fives trailing along behind," Antara reported.

At the main gate, security officers demanded to see the identity card of every departing worker and conducted searches. Police and military officers barred journalists from entering the complex without a permit from the local military office.

The dismissal, effective this month, shocked not only the sacked workers but also local government officials, because it was announced only on Monday,

The management of PT Dayak Besar said they had to fire the 2,400 workers because they could not afford the raw materials needed for plywood production.

But the head of the East Kalimantan manpower office, Sjachranie, expressed doubt about the company's explanation, saying that PT Dayak Besar still had 50,000 logs at its disposal.

He claimed that it was financial trouble which had led to the dismissal, and that it was the result of mismanagement.

PT Dayak Besar initially had five forest concessions in East Kalimantan, but the government refused to extend three of them in 1993 because of permit violations. Another blow came this year, when the government "froze" the remaining two concessions for the same reason.

The governor of East Kalimantan, H.M. Ardans, has promised to help the newly unemployed workers.

"We are approaching other companies which are interested in taking over the company," Sjachranie said.

A number of workers said they had no choice but to accept the firm's decision to sack them.

"We are all shocked because the dismissal was announced only on Monday," said Ida, who hails from Tana Toraja, South Sulawesi.

Another dismissed worker, Djaduli, had been employed in the factory for four years. He said that rumors about a mass dismissal had circulated a long time ago, but that not many people had taken them seriously.

"The management promised to give us severance pay on April 25," he said. "I have decided to return to my home village after that," said a worker from Tator, South Sulawesi.

The company's management was not available for comment yesterday. (pan)