Tyfountex upset by govt's unfair handling of dispute

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesian-Hong Kong textile joint venture PT Tyfountex Indonesia, based in Surakarta, Central Java, complained on Wednesday of what it considered the unfair handling of its labor dispute by the the arbitration board at the manpower ministry.

Tyfountex director Suwatna Djajasaputra said his company had met all the demands of the striking workers but operations continued to be disturbed by demonstrating laborers.

"The management and the workers' trade union leaders have agreed to increase monthly wages to an average of Rp 146,300 (US$13.30) a month, compared to the mandated minimum pay of Rp 130,000, as of August," Suwatna said.

He produced a copy of the agreement which also stipulated that the monthly wage would be raised further to Rp 160,300 from October.

"Moreover, only around 1,500 out the 8.000 workers employed in our plant still reject the agreement," Suwatna said, suspecting that the workers might have been manipulated by outsiders.

Tyfountex, an integrated textile company which started operating in Surakarta in 1974, exports most of its fabric and garments. Its annual export revenue is around US$60 million.

The protracted labor dispute, which culminated in a massive demonstration by around 700 workers at the manpower ministry here for five days last week, puzzled not only trade union leaders but the manpower minister himself.

"I have no idea what more they want because Tyfountex has proven to me that it has fulfilled all the workers' demands," Minister of Manpower Fahmi Idris told reporters after meeting with the demonstrating workers last Thursday.

Tyfountex's lawyer, Sophar Maru Hutagalung, said the labor dispute started in June when more than 1,000 workers went on strike to demand higher pay.

"But the August agreement should have solved that problem because the majority of them have returned to work," Sophar said.

Tyfountex, he added, had not fired the striking workers even though they had abandoned their posts for more than five days without prior approval which, based on labor regulations, could have resulted in their dismissal.

"But obviously, Tyfountex cannot simply rehire the striking workers without the proper procedure because of suspicions that some of them have been manipulated by outsiders for ends not related to the workers' welfare," he added.

The company, Sophar said, decided last month to apply for approval to fire the striking workers after they refused to register for reemployment during the allotted period. But the Labor Disputes Arbitration Board at the manpower ministry rejected the application as unacceptable.

The striking workers who grouped themselves under the Workers Reform Committee have insisted that they be rehired without any conditions.

"We have appealed to the manpower minister to veto the board's decision because if this kind of labor law enforcement is justified, more workers may be tempted to blackmail their employers. Industrial plants will find it more difficult to maintain discipline among their employees," Suwatna argued.

He added the 7,000 workers who accepted the August agreement had criticized the Tyfountex management for spoiling the striking workers.

"The loyal workers have even issued a statement expressing their opposition to the rehiring of their undisciplined colleagues," Sophar said, illustrating the dilemma faced by Tyfountex regarding the reemployment of the recalcitrant workers.

Suwatna added that his company had hired almost 2,000 workers out of more than 20,000 applicants to replace the rebellious ones because "we have to continue production to meet delivery orders from our customers, otherwise we may lose our market."

Sophar contended that Fahmi's decision on Tyfountex's appeal could be a test case for the survival of other major textile companies in Surakarta.

"If the minister decides in favor of the recalcitrant workers, irrespective of what has been done by Tyfountex to meet their demands, other textile companies may be highly vulnerable to unreasonable demands from their employees," Sophar added. (vin)