Taman Mini management raises Idul Fitri bonuses

JAKARTA (JP): The Taman Mini Indonesia Indah (the Beautiful Indonesia in Miniature Park) management has finally agreed to its employees' demand for a raise in their annual Idul Fitri bonus, following Sunday's strike.

The park spokesman, Dandoel Hardoyono, said on Wednesday that the management has doubled the bonus, locally known as THR, to Rp 300,000 and it had been distributed to the employees on Tuesday.

"The management has met the demand and the bonus was distributed to the employees yesterday," he told The Jakarta Post.

In Sunday's strike at least 800 employees from a 900-strong workforce stopped work servicing entry tickets and guarding the venues inside the park in East Jakarta.

The strike paralyzed for at least two hours services at the park, one of the biggest recreation centers in the capital, so that many visitors canceled their plans there.

There were no official reports concerning losses incurred during the strike.

The protesters agreed to disperse and resume work after some of their representatives held a dialog with the deputy general manager of the park.

The park, located on a 150-hectare plot, is run by management under the Harapan Kita Foundation, which is chaired by former president Soeharto.

Dandoel said that he appreciated what had been done by the management, saying that the raise was a real boost for them amid the poor economic conditions in the country.

Dubbed one of the country's major assets, the park is a favorite venue for visitors and students from outside Jakarta for their annual holidays.

"This year during the school holidays, however, no groups came to the park," he said.

He declined to disclose how much the park earns annually, saying that last year income dropped by 40 percent.

Meanwhile, the city administration would likely reprimand PT Telefoil, a communications company on Jl. Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta, for failing to pay holiday bonuses by Tuesday's deadline, or seven days ahead of the Idul Fitri celebration, an official said.

The company, which employs at least 100 workers, could be taken to court for its failure to abide by the regulations, an official of the Jakarta office of the Ministry of Manpower who asked not to be named said.

"The company's failure to meet their obligation was reported by their workers," he said.

The official added that he had sent the company a letter requesting that it pay the bonus to its employees as soon as possible.

"At a time of crisis like this the employers should have voluntarily helped their workers by sparing part of their incomes," he said.

Djoko Supriyanto, one of the company's workers, said that the workers had been waiting for the company management to initiate talks with them on Idul Fitri bonuses since the beginning of the Ramadhan month.

"The management has cut our wages in half since last month on the basis that the company has failed to sell the targeted number of units of Telepoint, an operator of state owned telecommunication company PT Telkom Indonesia," Djoko said, refusing to elaborate.

The company management could not be reached for comment.

The official of the manpower office said the crisis was not a reason for them not to pay their staff bonuses. If firms cannot afford to pay bonuses or have gone bankrupt they can officially apply for exemption.

Their applications should be accompanied by their last two months' balance sheets, written agreement with their workers and reports from public accountants stating that the firms are incapable of paying the bonuses, he said.

"In reality, however, not a single firm applied for exemption, meaning that all of them are economically sound and there is no need to delay bonus payments," he said.

Based on Ministry of Manpower Regulation No. 4/1994, employees working more than one year for a particular firm are entitled to a bonus equaling one month's salary, while those employed less than a year are entitled to bonuses calculated pro rata on the length of their employment.

"Those failing to abide by the regulation could face a punishment of three months in jail and a Rp 100,000 fine," he said.

Data of the Jakarta manpower office indicates that 500 companies went bankrupt last year, thereby reducing the number of firms operating in the city to 25,000 with a workforce of two million.

He explained that the two firms which had been picketed by their staff in a series of demonstrations recently had reached agreements with their workers concerning their bonuses. (emf/ylt)