Sampoerna workers concerned about their fate

Sampoerna workers concerned about their fate

ID Nugroho, The Jakarta Post/Surabaya

Lina's nimble hands, as if programed, were busy packing a stack
of hand-rolled cigarettes, her left hand positioning a piece of
paper between a wooden device for the soft pack of the Dji Sam
Soe kretek cigarettes and her right hand feeding the cigarettes
horizontally into the pack.

After that, she swiftly reached for a flat bamboo stick
smeared with starch and applied it to the top part of the pack to
seal the pack.

"Now, it's ready for sale," she said with a laugh, followed by
giggles from a few of her colleagues. The pack of cigarettes is
placed in a wooden box stacked neatly in front of her working
table. The manual packing goes on and on at a fast pace. "My
hands have eyes and the procedure won't go wrong," she told The
Jakarta Post jokingly recently. The workers giggled again.

Lina's task, is a routine activity in the production division
in one of PT Hanjaya Mandala Sampoerna's cigarette factories in
East Java.

There are about 27,000 workers employed in three large
factories founded by the Sampoerna family in the cities of
Surabaya and Pandaan in East Java.

The Indonesian cigarette company produces millions of
cigarettes daily in a modern as well as traditional way.

PT HM Sampoerna has become the topic of public discourse
recently in relation to its bold move of selling 40 percent of
its stake to PT Philip Morris Indonesia (PT PMI), a subsidiary of
the giant Philip Morris International Inc. which produces the
Marlboro and L&M cigarettes.

Philip Morris has also offered to buy the remaining shares,
including 52 percent in public shares at Rp 10,600 (US$1.10)
each.

Philip Morris will fork out Rp 48 trillion for the total
shares of PT HM Sampoerna's if a deal is struck.

Continuous media coverage on the acquisition, has caused
concern among workers at PT HM Sampoerna. "We are certainly
worried, but actually, it is the concern of the bosses up there,"
Yanti told the Post.

Workers are worried that a change in management may be
detrimental to them. "Who's not worried about a new employer,"
quipped Yanti.

Yanti has been working there for 17 years and her monthly
salary is her sole source of income.

"I started working here as a menial worker in 1988 until I
reached my position which is quite pleasant now. I felt a bit
worried after hearing the news," said the supervisor who lives in
East Surabaya.

Unlike Yanti, Lina has high hopes in Philip Morris in terms of
improving the welfare of the workers.

"We certainly want improvement, such as a salary increase,"
she said. Lina and the thousands of workers start work at 6 a.m.
and finish work at 5 p.m. daily. Workers like Lina have to meet a
target of packing 2,000 packs of cigarettes a day.

"I have to work fast," she said. If the target is reached, she
can earn Rp 800,000 per week or Rp 2.4 million a month.

"It seems big, but it is not actually. The cost of living in
Surabaya is higher than the salary I receive. I have to send home
some money too," said the mother of four children who has worked
at PT HM Sampoerna for 13 years.

Minister of Industry Andung A. Nitimiharja is convinced that
the presence of PT Philip Morris will not bring change to
employment conditions.

"I guarantee that not one of the workers will be laid off,"
said Andung in Surabaya. Philip Morris representatives had
pledged that no workers would be laid off during the meeting with
Vice President Jusuf Kalla and Andung in Jakarta.

PT HM Sampoerna spokesman Yudi Rizard compared the takeover to
purchasing a car.

"When they saw the 'car' owned by PT HM Sampoerna in
immaculate condition, and decided to buy it, why would they
modify the car?" asked Yudi.