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.