Semen Gresik vows to dismiss ex-CEOs

Semen Gresik vows to dismiss ex-CEOs

Evi Mariani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

After years of struggle, publicly listed cement producer PT
Semen Gresik is now preparing to regain control of its subsidiary
PT Semen Padang in West Sumatra following the verdict by a
district court ordering Padang's defiant old management to leave
the firm.

Gresik vowed on Wednesday to use every legal means to oust the
old management.

On Aug. 13, the Padang District Court issued a ruling ordering
the former Padang directors and commissioners to leave the
company's compound and allow the new management appointed by
Gresik's shareholders to take over.

The ruling also said if the former management disobeyed the
ruling, they would be fined Rp 10 million (about US$1,100) each
day following the date the ruling was issued. However, no
deadline was set for the execution of the ruling.

"We will ask the court to issue an order to execute its
verdict as soon as possible," said Gresik's lawyer Todung Mulya
Lubis on Wednesday at his office in Jakarta. "We will ask legal
officers to use force if necessary."

Gresik spokesman Suaeb Asmarawitjitra explained that Gresik
had not been able to gain clear information about the latest
situation at the Padang plant as they could not enter the
compound.

However, he said he had received reports stating that the
former management had left the compound, but the new management
could not enter the compound because some employees had blocked
the way.

Lubis and Suaeb could not come up with any solutions on how to
handle the defiant employees.

Last month, thousands of workers of Semen Padang prevented the
firm's new management team and Gresik's president Satriyo from
entering the compound. The workers blocked the main entrance.

Previously, Gresik claimed the new management team, appointed
by an extraordinary shareholders meeting in May this year, was
able to carry out its important duties from outside the office,
despite resistance from some employees and a dismissed top
executive.

The lengthy dispute has made Gresik unable to complete its
consolidated financial report, forcing the Jakarta Stock Exchange
(JSX) to suspend Gresik's stock trading from May to June.

Gresik is 51 percent owned by the government, 23.46 percent by
the public and 25.53 percent by Mexico's Cemex SA de CV who
became SG shareholders in 1998.

The conflict between Gresik and Semen Padang centered around
the government's plan to sell its remaining 51 percent stake in
Gresik to Cemex.

Padang's old management and some nationalist politicians
against the privatization of the firm demanded that Semen Padang
be spun off from Gresik,

Gresik owns 99.99 percent of Semen Padang shares and totally
owns Semen Tonasa in South Sulawesi.

Data shows that Gresik's combined output is 17.25 million
metric tons per year. Meanwhile, Semen Padang has an annual
capacity of 5.5 million metric tons and Tonasa has an annual
capacity of 3.48 million tons.