Steel firm workers seek better payment

JAKARTA (JP): More than 90 workers from PT Jagat Baja Prima Utama, a company producing steel structures, went yesterday to the National Commission on Human Rights seeking help in their negotiations with the company's management.

The workers told commission members Clementino Dos Reis Amaral and Aisyah Amini that the company, located in Tangerang, West Java, will not allow them to form a unit of the All- Indonesia Workers Union (SPSI).

They also said that the management never took account of their seniority when determining their salaries.

"The company pays all workers the same Rp 5,200 basic daily salary, which is the minimum wage," said Budi Santoso, a spokesman for the workers.

He said the protesting workers, who have worked for the company for between five and 11 years, receive the same salary as many of those with less than five years of service.

"The only thing which differentiates the salaries of senior and junior workers is the daily allowances, which range from Rp 1,900 to Rp 4,100," he added. The allowances are for food, transportation and medical care.

A factory manager, Hadi Soeroso, told The Jakarta Post that the company had agreed to let the workers form a union, "It's just a matter of time, we have to wait for the right time to do it," he said.

He said that the salary increases for senior workers, which is determined by their performance appraisals, range from between five and 15 percent.

Soeroso also denied that the company planned to dismiss four of them. "We will call the four to give an explanation of why they went on strike," he said. (03)