Thousands of workers lose jobs in Tangerang

Thousands of workers lose jobs in Tangerang

Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post, Tangerang

Due to a continuing decline in business orders, at least 1,640
workers from several companies in Tangerang have been fired over
the last two months and many of them are already in a condition
of near starvation.

Nurul, 23, a senior high school graduate, told The Jakarta
Post last week that she lost her job with PT Kencana Indah
Garment, a garment producer in Cikokol, Tangerang.

She said she had been evicted from her boarding house in
Cikokol because she could not pay the monthly rental fee.
"Luckily, a friend of mine is letting me stay in her house for a
while. But I don't have enough money to buy food," she said.

"I can eat once a day because of the assistance of fellow
activists of the Leather, Garment and Sandal Labor Association
(SPTSK) who collect money from others to supply food for all
dismissed workers," she added.

She said that, when she was fired on Oct. 13, the company only
gave her Rp 180,000 (US$18), which it claimed was severance pay.
"But in fact, the money was actually my salary for the last two
weeks before the company management declared the factory's
closure and the mass dismissal of its 879 workers," she said.

Nurul said she actually wanted to go back to her hometown and
meet up with her parents in Purwokerto, Central Java, but she did
not have any money to buy tickets.

Saidah, 21, a worker at photo album producer PT Star Album in
the Karawaci area, who together with 120 other workers lost her
job at the company, explained that, without the help of her
friend, she would have died of starvation.

PT Star Album has reported that it had to dismiss its 120
workers last month due to declining orders over the last few
months.

"I now live in a friend's boarding house. I have sent many
applications to other factories since I lost my job. I hope one
of them will employ me soon," she told the Post at the Tangerang
manpower agency last week.

"I have sent my wife and my two children back to my home town
in Wonosobo, Central Java, because I've run out of money to
support them," 34-year-old Suyono, who lost his job at PT Fajar
Sun Master last month, told The Jakarta Post last week.

PT. Fajar Sun Master, a company that produces household
devices under the Cosmos brandname on Jl. KH. Agus Salim, Batu
Ceper reportedly dismissed 200 workers in October due to its
declining product orders.

Suyono, a former mechanic at the factory who is now staying in
his friend's rented house in Batu Ceper, said that, while waiting
for a new job he spent his days working as a cigarette peddler in
the city.

"Fortunately, I still have some savings that can be used as a
small amount of capital to sell the cigarettes," he said.

PT Jaya Gunung Agung, a paper producer on Jl. Imam Bonjol in
Karawaci, also dismissed 183 of its 308 workers this month. As a
protest against the alleged unfair dismissals, the workers staged
a rally at the council's offices last Wednesday.

PT Koinus Jaya, a jacket producer on Jl. Imam Bonjol in the
Karawaci area, has also seen its business orders declining. It
has decided to fire 250 workers from its total workforce of 500.

The dismissed workers organized a rally last Wednesday to
protest the company's step and eight of them were detained by the
police for vandalism.

Head of Tangerang manpower agency, Achmad Kosasih, admitted
that his agency could not do much to prevent such mass dismissals
by the companies.

"As business has been worsening recently, we understand that
the companies have to take such a step. How can the companies pay
their workers if they do not receive orders?" he said to the Post
in an interview at his office last week.

Achmad said that as far as he knew, no company had sent
reports about such mass dismissals because the planned dismissals
by the five companies were still being handled by the Central
Committee for Settling Disputes between Workers and Companies
(P4P).