Shangri-La union executives seek international support
Shangri-La union executives seek international support
JAKARTA (JP): The Shangri-La Independent Worker Union (SPMS)
is looking for international support in its fight against
Shangri-La Hotel management.
SPMS secretary Odie Hudiyanto told The Jakarta Post on Monday
that they were continuing the struggle to regain their jobs by
filing a suit through the International Labor Organization (ILO).
"The International Union of Food Workers (IUF), which has
members in 130 countries, has filed a suit against the Indonesian
government through ILO," Odie claimed.
According to Odie, the director of the International Labor
Standards Department at the ILO Office in Geneva, Jean Claude
Javiller, had sent a letter to the Ministry of Manpower and
Trasmigration on March 2 requesting that the government seriously
endeavor to resolve the dispute.
SPMS claimed that Shangri-La Hotel management violated a 1998
ILO convention which the Indonesian government is bound to
uphold.
The dispute centers on the employees' demands for a salary
rise, as well as a higher share of income from service charges
and a pension fund.
Workers commenced occupation of the hotel on Dec. 22, forcing
management to suspend operations for nearly three months.
The hotel has since reopened, while dismissal of the workers
affiliated with SPMS are going through an arbitration process at
the government-sanctioned Central Committee for the Settlement of
Labor Disputes (P4P).
The committee has yet to hand down its verdict.
According to Odie, only 232 SPMS members have officially
resigned from the hotel, while 273 others continue to demand
reinstatement.
Odie said hotel management had also filed a lawsuit against
the striking workers, with the South Jakarta District Court,
demanding Rp 80 billion in damages.
As the suit entered its third hearing on April 17, Odie
claimed that the hotel's lawyer, Maqdir Ismail, asked SPMS
executives to negotiate and reconcile.
"We realize that the lawsuit was just aimed at spooking the
workers," Odie said.
Odie insisted that the remaining workers only want their jobs
back, no matter how much Shangri-La Hotel management offers them
in compensation.(01)