Shangri-La union executives resign after uncertain wait

JAKARTA (JP): Several executives of Shangri-La Independent Worker Union (SPMS) said on Tuesday that they decided to resign from the hotel, after striking for three months, as they were tired of waiting for uncertain settlement results.

"We began to think about the future," one of the union's deputy chairmen, Denny Setiadi, said.

Another deputy chairman Frits Risakota said that the striking workers had divided into two groups on March 31. Some 100 members, led by SPMS chairman Nurdin Halilintar, decided to proceed with a legal settlement while 350 members decided to resign.

A treasurer at the union, Budi Susanto, revealed that the resigning workers who had worked between three months to seven years received separation pay from the hotel ranging from Rp 3 million to Rp 30 million.

Budi denied Nurdin's statement last week that three of the union's executives, including Denny and Budi, were assigned by the management to lure other employees to resign. Nurdin had said that the three were promised "commission" for each worker they could tempt to quit.

Budi said that the decision to resign was based on Nurdin's statement in a meeting on Feb. 28 that the deadline for workers to take a stance on the dispute was March 31.

But the deadline passed and there was still no decision on whether they could resume work so many employees just gave up. They decided to receive the money offered by the hotel management and tendered their resignation.

An employee, Ismail, said that he decided to resign because he needed the money to pay for his children's tuition which had been suspended for the previous three months

"I have sold my TV, VCD, refrigerator and other valuables to feed my four children, whose mother has just passed away," he told The Jakarta Post.

The labor dispute centers on employees' demand for a salary hike and an equal sharing of the hotel's service charges and pension fund.

Workers occupied the hotel on Dec. 22, forcing the management to halt the hotel's operations.

The management of Shangri-La Hotel said that as of Tuesday, 400 of its striking employees had resigned to pave the way for an end to the long-running labor dispute.

Shangri-La senior manager Wastu Widanto claimed that the mass resignation, involving more than 60 percent of 579 striking employees, had been processed by the government-sanctioned Central Committee for the Settlement of Labor Disputes (P4P). The committee is scheduled to hand down a verdict next Monday.

He said the occupancy rate of the 32-story hotel still ranges between 18 percent to 20 percent of its 668 rooms and suites, adding that the five star Shangri-La hotel will also accommodate participants of the G-15 summit in May. (01)