PT Pos employees demand salary hike
JAKARTA (JP): Some 2,000 employees of state-owned postal service and courier firm PT Pos Indonesia staged a rally on Monday at the company's Jakarta office on Jl Lapangan Banteng Utara in Central Jakarta, demanding a salary increase and improved benefits.
The employees, who started the rally at 8 a.m., left the office at 9 a.m. to forward their aspirations to the Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunications on Jl Merdeka Barat, which is some 500 meters away from the office. They then moved on to the finance ministry to air similar aspirations.
Chairman of PT Pos Indonesia Workers Union (SPPI) Gibson Sihombing said the rally was held because PT Pos Indonesia executives had yet to comply with a March 12, 2001 joint agreement between the executives and the union.
He said both parties had agreed on an increase in the employees' salary, which has never once been raised in the past 10 years, of their health allowance, and the eradication of collusion, corruption and nepotism in the company.
"But, many employees still receive a salary far below the government-established minimum regional wage (UMR)," Gibson told journalists.
He said he had told the employees that the rally would be held by SPPI, so other employees could work and serve the public as usual.
"But the plans changed as many employees were dissatisfied at not being able to join the rally," he said.
Posters and placards were stuck on the walls around the office building and fences. One placard read "PT Pos Indonesia is rich, its executives and management are also rich, but its employees are miserable." Another, aimed at the company's executives, read: "you may sleep sound, but do not cut our throats because it is very painful, sir."
Several employees said the company's revenue had increased significantly.
"But the executives do not care about us," a protester said.
Kasmin, a driver of the company who is assigned to collect letters from other post offices in Jakarta, Bogor, Tangerang and Bekasi complained that he had only been receiving Rp 100,000 (US$10) per month as a basic salary.
"Can you survive with that sum of money in this city? It's crazy," he told The Jakarta Post.
The rally brought the office's services to almost a complete halt. Some customers turned back as they saw that the office's gates were closed and the employees were gathering outside.
Only one of the existing 17 booths, express mail service and two out of the seven booths, money orders service, were open during the rally. Other booths which serve retirement claims and receive tap-water (PAM) and telecommunication (Telkom) bills payment were also open.
Nirwan, financial manager of the post office, maintained that although the employees joined the rally, their public services must go on.
"Although only two of our booths were open, we can still serve the public," he said.
All employees, whether those joining the rally or those who remained sitting behind the booths' windows wore black wristbands on their left arms. (01)