Shangri-La management to take legal steps over strike

JAKARTA (JP): The management of the five-star Shangri-La Hotel said here on Saturday that legal steps would be taken to settle the all out workers strike and the 'illegal' occupation of the hotel from Dec. 22 to Dec. 25.

Peter J. Carmichael, Shangri-La Indonesia-Fiji General Manager, told reporters that management had tried to accommodate workers demands in line with existing (manpower) laws.

Lawyer Mulyadi of Maqdir & Mulyadi Law Firm, who accompanied Peter, said management had asked police to investigate what was really behind the strike.

"The striking employees have violated the laws by occupying the hotel and taking four expatriate managers as hostages. These are our main reasons for requesting the police to handle the case," Mulyadi said.

According to Carmichael, the occupation of the hotel by some employees occurred while negotiations between management and the Shangri-La Independent Worker Union (SPSM) were underway.

"This is certainly illegal and has legal consequences," he said.

Some 500 staff, mostly on-duty employees from the Food & Beverage, Room Service, Security and Engineering units, started the strike following a prolonged dispute over several matters, particularly their service charges, pension fund, and the suspension of workers.

Several guests had to be evacuated to other hotels and the hotel has had to halt operations since Dec. 22.

Carmichael said that service charges had been equally distributed following negotiations between management and SPSM, which was recognized by the Ministry of Manpower on Oct. 19 this year.

He said SPSM had reconfirmed the collective labor agreement of Oct. 20 in which the transportation allowance was increased from Rp 60,000 to Rp 100,000. "The amount will be Rp 130,000 starting January 2001," he added.

But SPSM arbitrarily canceled the agreement and turned down management's invitation for further discussions on the workers' demands.

"The hotel management will no longer negotiate with the union until a legal settlement is reached," he stressed.

The 32-story Shangri-La Hotel which has 668 rooms and suites is located on Jl. Karet Pasar Baru Timur, Central Jakarta.

"Since Dec. 22, the hotel has suffered billions of rupiah in losses."

He said the losses ranged from daily revenue, customer's claims over canceled bookings, and damages during the strike, adding that the losses would continue until the hotel resumed operation.

Management estimated losses of Rp 10 billion from daily income as of Dec. 31.

"But, the biggest loss is the nonmaterial damage... the hotel's good reputation," said Carmichael.

When asked how long a legal settlement would take and when the hotel would resume operation, Carmichael said the Management had handed over the matter to the authorities. "Hopefully the hotel will resume operation soon. (01)