PTDI to reopen after protests

BANDUNG: The management of insolvent PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PTDI) is to reopen one of its gates after being closed for almost nine months following the massive workers lay-off.

PTDI spokesperson Rakhendi Triatna said on Thursday that the reopening of the gate, where the company's labor union had staged numerous demonstrations, was intended to speed up daily operations.

Currently, remaining employees must enter through a single gate. Rakhendi said that the management did not worry that laid- off workers might force their way in, as they had alerted security guards and provided identity cards to be shown upon entry.

"Hopefully the reopening of the gate will raise the company's production level. If the company can show healthy growth again, it might be possible to rehire fired workers," he said.

He added that the company had processed the severance pay for at least 2,750 of the 6,561 fired workers. Of these, 2,000 had already received their payment, while the remainder would be disbursed gradually, said Rakhendi.

He hoped that workers who had not yet processed their severance pay would do so immediately to open new businesses and feed their families. -- Antara