Striking hotel workers run cafe

By Ahmad Junaidi

JAKARTA (JP): If you don't have much money but would like to taste five-star hotel food and beverages, try the Warung Solidaritas (Solidarity Food Stall) which is being run by striking workers of the Shangri-La Hotel.

But if you do go to the street cafe, located on Jl. KH. Mas Mansur in front of Batavia Tower, Central Jakarta, at lunch or dinner time, be prepared to be patient and wait for about one hour before receiving your order. Also, be prepared to wait if you would like a seat, as this tiny food stall only has two long benches with room for 15 visitors.

Among their customers are young professionals working along Jl. Jend. Sudirman and Jl. Satrio, and some local artists.

The menu itself has a nuance of "struggle" - a struggle against hotel management.

Check out the cafe's main menu: Nasi Goreng Stop PHK (Stop Dismissal Fried Rice) which costs Rp 4,500 (less than U.S. 50 cents) per portion, or Kwetiauw Buruh (Workers' Noodles) at Rp 6,500 per dish.

You could also taste Siomay Perjuangan (Dim Sum of Struggle) for Rp 3,500, or Solid Bihun (Solid Rice Noodles) for Rp 4,500.

Beverages include: Es teller SPMS (Shangri-La Independent Worker Union Mixed Fruit Juice), FSPM (Indonesian Hotel Independent Workers Union Federation) Avocado Juice, IUF (International Union of Food, Hotels and Restaurants) Tomato Juice, or LBH (Jakarta Legal Aid Institute) Lemon Tea.

All the names depict "the struggle" of about 500 Shangri-La Hotel workers, who are members of SPMS, fighting to be reemployed by the hotel's management after striking for almost three months.

The workers also name their products after the organizations which have so far supported their strike.

Entering the two meter by five meter tent cafe, customers can also view pictures of the struggle, including their demonstrations in front of the hotel and a hearing in the House of Representatives (DPR).

The cafe's head, Jojo Suharto, said that the operation's profits were used to finance the workers' activities.

"Establishment of the cafe also aims to attract public attention to our struggle," Jojo, who has been working at the hotel for almost five years with his last position being chef de partie, told The Jakarta Post over the weekend.

The father of two sons said more than Rp 520,000 of the cafe's profit was spent on financing their rally in front of the hotel on March 17, the hotel's first day of operation since being closed on Dec. 22 last year.

Several workers suffered injuries when dozens of police beat them in an attempt to disperse the rally.

Jojo said the cafe is open around the clock with four cooks, four waiters and four stewards. The cooks are paid Rp 20,000 a day, waiters Rp 10,000 a day and the stewards, whose main job is washing the dishes, Rp 7,000.

The 50-year-old Jojo claimed that the cafe, which was established last month, earned an average daily profit of between Rp 1 million and Rp 1.5 million after food and beverage expenses.

He said that they have to pay a "security fee" of up to Rp 200,000 a month to the so-called Karet Tengsin Family Association, who "allow" them to run the business on the site.

The workers spent Rp 1.5 million to build the first cafe -- mostly for the wooden benches, tables, and tarpaulin roof.

In the near future, the workers will expand their business by opening a new outlet, also located on Jl. KH. Mas Mansur, near the Kempinski Hotel.

The expansion aims to give jobs to other members of SPMS, who have been "black-listed" by restaurants and hotels in Jakarta.

"Our names have been spread to hotels and restaurants here. Some of our friends looking for work were rejected after being identified as striking Shangri-La workers," Jojo said.

The workers will stop their demonstrations against the hotel if their cafes could give them jobs in the future, Jojo said. For the time being though, they will continue with their rallies.

"We will not stop until our demands are fulfilled," he remarked.

The workers have earlier demanded that the hotel provide equal distribution of service charges and the pension fund.

Their case is now being examined by the Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration's worker's dispute settlement division.