Tension at Garuda intensifies ahead of planned strike

Tension at Garuda intensifies ahead of planned strike

Ridwan Max Sijabat, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The ongoing dispute between the cabin crew union and the
management of national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia intensified
on Tuesday after Garuda forcibly shut the offices of the
Association of Cabin Attendants (Ikagi) at Sukarno-Hatta
International Airport in Cengkareng.

Ikagi has hired a team of lawyers and plans to file a
complaint with the National Commission of Human Rights on the
management's unilateral action, described by the association as a
form of intimidation against the protesting workers, who still
plan to walk off the job for three days beginning on Friday in a
protest against what it described as a discriminative
remuneration system.

It has accused the management of violating the country's
Constitution as well as the law on labor unions, which guarantees
the freedom of association.

Besides locking out Ikagi staff, the management has also made
announcements in the national media and passed out pamphlets
calling on the public, especially Garuda customers, not to worry
about the cabin crew threats of a national strike.

The Garuda management announced that the company had taken
"anticipatory steps to ensure all Garuda flights will continue
its normal operations" and it guarantees its customers' rights
to a confirmed departure and comfortable flight.

State Minister of State Enterprises Sugiharto said in Bandung,
West Java, that Garuda would likely be assisted from cabin crews
of other airline companies as part of a contingency plan if the
planned strike materialized.

Ikagi Chairman Zainuddin Malik denounced the management's move
on Tuesday, which he called an effort to cover up the "prolonged
labor abuse" at Garuda.

"We will go ahead with our plan to walk out for three
consecutive days from Aug. 12 to Aug. 14 as a protest against the
labor abuse," he told The Jakarta Post, while claiming that 90
percent of more than 2,400 cabin crew staff throughout the
country had confirmed their support for the strike.

Dozens of Garuda flight attendants presented flowers to
passersby at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle on Sunday in a
campaign to win the public's support in their dispute with
management.

"Most flight attendants have not been paid on the basis of
skills, performance or work experience. Those that work on
holidays or more than eight hours a day are not given extra pay
in accordance with the labor law," Zainuddin said, and added that
he had been employed for 20 years, but claimed that he had
celebrated Idul Fitri with his family in his home town just three
times and he had received no extra pay on holidays.

Meanwhile, the International Transportation Federation (ITF)
expressed great concern over the closure of the Ikagi's offices,
appealing to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to help seek a
peaceful settlement of the industrial dispute.

"We strongly protest the arbitrary act and call on the
management to immediately reverse the decision," ITF civil
aviation secretary Ingo Marowsky said in his letter to the Garuda
management.

The ITF representative in Indonesia, Hanafi Rustandi, said ITF
has also delivered a letter to the President, calling for support
for the Garuda cabin crews not only to repair the national flag
carrier's image, but also to encourage its employees to be more
professional.