PPD drivers' strike for salary rise enters second day
JAKARTA (JP): Thousands of drivers, conductors and administrative staff of state-owned Perum PPD bus company entered their second day on strike on Tuesday to press their demand for a minimum 100 percent hike in monthly salaries.
In the late afternoon, about 400 of the strikers went with their wives and children to the Ministry of Communications to air their grievance to minister Giri Suseno Hadihardjono.
Thousands of people in the capital have been stranded during the two-day strike. Many have been forced to spend extra time in finding alternative means to work or shopping centers.
Protesters claimed that "very few" of the 7,000 PPD workforce defied the call to strike and continued to offer bus services.
On Monday, about 1,500 PPD employees held a sit-in at the company's headquarters in Cawang, East Jakarta.
During the peaceful action, the protesters, who were from different PPD bus pools throughout the capital, asked Giri to effect a 120 percent increase in their monthly salary.
They proposed that the minister could alternately sell the company's 700 buses and distribute the funds among all the PPD employees.
On Tuesday afternoon, about 400 representatives from the 15 PPD bus pools in the city packed the auditorium of Giri's ministry on Jl. Medan Merdeka Barat in Central Jakarta.
They unfurled banners and posters, urging the minister to step up efforts to raise the personnel's "welfare" and abolish corruption in the company.
But they disassociated themselves from the demand to sell the buses.
"We're on the same side with Monday's protesters, but we disagree on the request to liquidate the company because such an action would only further burden our lives," spokesman for the protesters R. Damanik said.
About one hour after the arrival of the protesters, Giri and other top ministry officials, including Director General of Land Transportation Santo Budiono and the ministry's secretary-general Anwar Supriyadi, met with them.
Giri told the PPD staff that his office would arrange a tripartite meeting of the ministry, representatives of the protesters and PPD to discuss a suitable salary increase.
The minister acknowledged the protesters' claim that they had not received an increase in their monthly salary -- ranging from Rp 100,000 to Rp 120,000 each -- in seven years.
"The Perum PPD management has been unable to raise salaries of its staff because it has suffered losses during its operations, particularly during the economic hardship," he said.
Giri also dismissed the suggestion to liquidate the company and sell off the buses.
Following the protest, Damanik said PPD employees would return to work as usual on Wednesday.
According to Giri, his ministry sought assistance from other private bus companies to provide 340 of their reserve vehicles to serve stranded commuters.
Separately, head of the city land transportation agency Buyung Atang said the city administration prepared 220 extra buses to deal with the strike.
"It's our obligation to serve the people," he said at City Hall. "We've prepared the extra buses since Monday."
The extra buses were from privately owned companies, such as Bianglala, Steady Safe, Giri Indah, Hiba Utama, Pahala Kencana and Damri.
Asked about the planned increase in bus fares, Buyung said its determination was still being made.
"The administration is still listening to input from the Land Transportation Agency, the Association of Public Land Transportation Owners (Organda), the Indonesian Consumers Foundation and the City Regional Economic Bureau (Binekda) and we have yet to reach an agreement," he said.
A source said Organda demanded an increase in fares of up to 200 percent, but the administration and the consumers association only agreed to between 25 percent and 50 percent.
The source said the difference in the fare proposals was mainly caused by the higher calculation set by Organda based on extenuating factors, such as bank interest payments, bus costs, load factors and employee salaries. (asa/ind)