SPMS to bring dispute to ILO meeting

JAKARTA: Some former employees of Shangri-La hotel will bring the labor dispute case with the hotel management to the annual meeting of the International Labor Organization's governing body on Nov. 14 in Geneva, Switzerland.

Odie Hudiyanto, secretary to the Shangri-La Jakarta Independent Labor Union (SPMS), told The Jakarta Post that the ILO's governing body had placed the case on the meeting's agenda.

"This is the first labor dispute case here brought to the ILO's annual meeting. ILO consider it serious following a verdict by the South Jakarta District Court concerning the case," Odie said.

Odie and Isep S. Mubarok will attend the meeting with 3,000 participants from over 100 countries around the world.

Odie claimed the fact that the hotel management refused to negotiate with SPMS revealed the management's bad faith over the case.

On Wednesday, the court stated that seven former employees of the hotel, who were leaders of SPMS, were proven guilty of organizing strikes and demonstrations against the hotel's management last year. The management claimed that the action taken by employees had caused them a loss of US$13 million.

The court ruled that the employees pay some $2 million to the management and advertise an apology to five local newspapers.

Odie said that their actions had been aimed at improving the freedom of speech and the welfare of the hotel's workers. --JP