Telkom employees start 4-day strike in Central Java

SEMARANG (JP): Thousands of employees of the regional division office (Divre) IV of state telecommunication company PT Telkom, overseeing Central Java and Yogyakarta, began a four-day strike on Tuesday to protest the sale of company assets to PT Indosat.

A similar protest was staged on May 23 in Yogyakarta.

Consumers who dialed 108 for information and any calls requesting services were ignored during the protest.

A Yogyakarta resident said that he failed to get assistance when he dialed 108. "It sounded as if the lines were very busy."

However, in general, there were no complaints lodged by consumers due to the strike.

Syahrul Akhyar, chairman of the Divre IV employees said in Semarang that they had to strike as their demands had not been fulfilled. "We apologize for this strike."

Syahrul told reporters that the Divre IV employees feared dismissals would follow the sale of the assets, and therefore demanded that the agreement be annulled.

"With all due respect, we apologize (to all Telkom users) that we had to go on strike," he said, adding that an apology was also made to the administrations of Central Java and Yogyakarta provinces.

"We ask for your blessings for our struggle. We promise to return to work and improve our service if our demands are met," he added.

The employees opposed the sale of Telkom's Divre IV assets, valued at US$375 million, to PT Indosat. The memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed on Feb. 15 this year.

Under the MOU, PT Indosat is to hand over all its shares in Telkomsel (a cellular phone service provider) to PT Telkom, while PT Telkom is to give up its shares in PT Satelindo and PT Lintasarta and all assets of the Divre IV office to Indosat.

Separately in Yogyakarta, governor Sultan Hamengkubuwono X apparently gave his support to the strikers and addressed a dialog with hundreds of members of the local chapter of Alliance of Telkom Employees (Sekar).

The sultan said that he also opposed the plan (to sell PT Telkom's assets) if it would mean a loss to PT Telkom.

"I was very surprised that PT Telkom employees' calculations showed that the deal would mean losses to PT Telkom and PT Indosat. So, who would benefit from the agreement? If it is a third party or foreign investors, I strongly oppose the idea," he said.

Telkom services apparently returned to normal in the afternoon after the Hamengkubuwono persuaded them not to disrupt the services to the public during the protest.

The sultan, accompanied by Yogyakarta Police Chief Brig. Gen. Saleh Saaf and Yogyakarta Military Commander Col. Bambang Suherman, called on the directors of PT Telkom and PT Indosat to listen to their employees aspirations.

Sekar secretary Dwi Cahyanto said that 240 members would leave for Jakarta on Wednesday to stage a similar protest.

"We will stage a huge protest on Thursday," he said, adding that PT Telkom shareholders general meeting would be held on that day.

Meanwhile in Jakarta, the company's workers union also planned a rally to support their colleagues in Central Java and Yogyakarta.

The demonstrations would be held at the office of the Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, the Finance Ministry, the Telecommunication and Transportation Ministry and the Jakarta Stock Exchange. (har/23/emf)