Steel workers balk at forced resignations
Steel workers balk at forced resignations
JAKARTA (JP): About 500 Bekasi steel workers made their second
trip to the National Commission on Human Rights to protest at
their firm's attempts to force a large number of employees to
resign following a bloody rally last month.
During the meeting, the workers, which represented a quarter
of PT Gunung Garuda's 2,000 strong labor force, urged the
commission to intervene to prevent the privately-owned company
from continuing with its efforts to force some of their number to
resign.
"About 130 workers have been forced to resign without adequate
compensation and a further 70 have so far refused to sign
resignation letters presented to them by the company," the
workers' spokesman Eduard D. Marpaung told commission members
Soegiri and M. Salim during the meeting to which the media were
also invited.
According to Eduard, the company began asking workers to
resign a few days after the June 30 demonstration in the factory
grounds compound in Cibitung in which 23 workers were shot with
rubber bullets by military personnel.
Workers who acquiesced to the company's demands were each
given between Rp 300,000 and Rp 1 million in compensation, Eduard
said.
He said the coerced resignations had begun shortly after the
management promised officials from the local office of the
Ministry of Manpower that they would not dismiss any workers.
The management broke their own pledge, he said.
He said the company bosses had vowed to reemploy workers who
resigned once the economic situation began to improve.
"But when will the situation improve? In six months? A year?"
Eduard questioned.
After listening to the workers' complaints, the commission
members said they would report the case to Minister of Manpower
Fahmi Idris in an attempt to help solve the problem.
The workers, however, were unsatisfied with this response.
They wanted the commission to invite both Fahmi and the
company's management to discuss the dispute at their office.
But commission member Soegiri refused, saying that the
commission had no right to invite a minister to a meeting at
their office.
"We can send a letter asking the minister to help solve the
problem. That's all," Soegiri said.
Almost all of the 2,000 workers at the factory took part in
the June 30 demonstration calling for the establishment of a
workers union, improvements to their social welfare and the
establishment of boarding houses for employees.
One hundred and fifty members of the Army Strategic Reserves
Command and artillery units opened fire on the demonstrators at
midday after they threatened to destroy the firm's factory.
They reportedly fired into the crowd after verbal cautions and
warning shots had been ignored.
Eight of the 23 injured workers are still being treated in
Bakti Husada Hospital, Cikarang, a worker said yesterday. (jun)