PTDI employees start to arrange severance pay after protests

Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post, Bandung

After months of protest, employees of ailing aircraft manufacturer PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PTDI) began on Tuesday to accept the reality that they would not be returning to work for the company.

More than 500 employees of PTDI began to arrange their severance pay on Tuesday at the company's office on Jl. Padjadjaran in Bandung. Hundreds of other employees, accompanied by their spouses and children, were still seeking information on the amount of severance pay they could expect to receive.

The workers visited the office after company announced that its more than 6,000 dismissed employees had from Feb. 9 to March 5 to arrange their severance pay.

The announcement was made after PTDI's decision to dismiss its more than 6,000 employees was agreed to by the Central Committee for Labor Dispute Settlements (P4P).

"Severance pay can be paid to employees only after Feb. 24, as it takes time to arrange the disbursement of the money," PTDI public relations manager Rakhendi Triyatna told The Jakarta Post.

Rakhendi said employees would receive between Rp 8 million (US$941) and Rp 160 million in severance pay.

"Those who only worked here for one year will receive the least, while those who were employed here for more than 25 years will get more than Rp 100 million," he said.

While some employees were making arrangements to sever ties with the company, it is not clear what the stance of other employees will be.

The chairman of the PTDI trade union, Arief Winardi, whose members staged numerous protests demanding the government step in and save their jobs, could not be reached for comment on Tuesday. The union has previously vowed that, no matter the decision by the P4P, it would take the case to the Supreme Court.

Manpower and Transmigration Minister Jacob Nuwa Wea said he would not veto the P4P's decision on the firing of the PTDI employees.

He appealed to the employees to accept the decision because the aircraft manufacturer, with falling orders and a dire financial state, could no longer employ the workers.

"It would be a waste if they came in to work because there's nothing to do. It would only be a burden for the company," he said after opening a job fair at the Landmark Building on Jl. Braga in Bandung.