Probosutedjo, Soeharto on losing end in workers' suit

JAKARTA (JP): A judge at the Central Jakarta District Court ruled on Tuesday that former president Soeharto and businessman Probosutedjo pay Rp 435 million (US$54,375) for unlawfully dismissing 80 handicapped workers from their jobs at a workshop in August last year.

"The management of the Swa Prasidya Purna Workshop for the Handicapped dismissed the workers without earlier obtaining proper authorization from the Harapan Kita Foundation, which owned the workshop," presiding judge Ali Akmal said in a hearing crowded with dozens of former workers of the workshop.

"The workshop board of management had indeed received an approval from Soeharto, the chairman of the foundation, to close the workshop due to the economic crisis.

"The move, however, violated the workshop's statutes, which requires approval from the Harapan Kita Foundation Board of Executives before the workshop management could close the workshop," said Ali.

Probosutedjo, chairman of the workshop, announced in August last year that the workshop was bankrupt. The announcement led to the automatic dismissal all the workers, including the 80 handicapped staff. Probosutedjo is Soeharto's half brother.

Ali said the foundation had neglected its responsibility to maintain the existence of the workshop.

"The foundation should seek new sponsors to save the workshop and to prevent any workers' dismissals," he said.

He said the panel of judges rejected the first defendant workshop management's defense statement, which argued that the workshop-workers relationship was merely "voluntarily."

"The court found working relations between the two parties, as stipulated in an agreement sponsored by the Manpower Ministry's Committee on Labor Dispute Settlement, on the workers' severance pay," Ali said.

The committee ordered the management of the workshop last year to disburse the severance pay to help settle the dispute.

The 80 disabled workers filed a lawsuit with the court early this year against their dismissal. Probosutedjo was named as the first suspect, with Soeharto the second.

The workers demanded the two defendants pay compensation of Rp 103.8 billion (US$15.7 million).

Ali said the court was not responsible for issuing the verdict on the severance pay, citing that it was the responsibility of the labor dispute settlement committee.

Ali said the first and the second defendants were ordered to pay all the workers' expenditures for monthly telephone and electricity bills.

"The defendants, together, have compensated for the workers' losses, worth Rp 35 million (US$ 4,375)," he said.

The judge said the two defendants also had to pay the immaterial losses suffered by the workers for the prosecution.

"The two defendants must pay Rp 400 million for immaterial losses within eight days after the issuance of the verdict," said Ali.

The workers abruptly shouted "Alhamdulillah" (Thank God) and "Allahu Akbar" (Allah the Great) after the presiding judge completed the reading of the verdict.

Syamsul Hadi, one of Probosutedjo lawyers, said after the hearing that his camp would lodge an appeal with the Jakarta High Court. (asa)