Union settles dispute with foreign tap water companies

JAKARTA (JP): Members of city-owned tap water company PD PAM Jaya's workers union have decided provisionally to accept PAM Jaya's two foreign partners.

To mark the initial stage of the reconciliation, staff of the conflicting parties took part in a series of sports competitions held in commemoration of the country's 55th Independence Day at the Buaran water treatment plant in East Jakarta.

The two foreign companies, England-based Thames Pam Jaya (TPJ), which runs the Buaran plant, and France-based PAM Lyonnaise Jaya (Palyja), endured threats and damage caused by union members since the dispute erupted in 1998.

"It's important for us to have capable and qualified employees to improve our service to the customers. That's why we're happy with their willingness to negotiate their demands," TPJ president Pierre Jacobs told The Jakarta Post.

"As soon as the negotiations are agreed on, we'll be able to continue our planned service improvements," he added.

Currently, TPJ, which serves PAM Jaya customers in the eastern part of the city, employs some 2,400 seconded workers from PAM Jaya.

Meanwhile, Palyja commissioner Bernard Lafrogne said the City Council had agreed to renegotiate the contract between PAM Jaya and its foreign partners.

"We received an official letter a few weeks ago confirming the City Council's consent to the renegotiations," he said on the sidelines of the sports competitions.

"Therefore, we opened a dialogue with the union members to discuss their welfare with the company, especially the differences between our own employees and those who are seconded from PAM Jaya," said Lafrogne, whose company is responsible for service in the western part of the city.

Union chairman Amir Tanjung said the union was willing to open talks with the two companies after learning that the City Council had given its consent to the renegotiations.

"Currently we are negotiating the status of seconded employees in both companies, especially the demand for salary equality," he said during the same event.

"The union also demands clear job descriptions for our members. We don't want to receive our paychecks without doing anything," he said.

According to Tanjung, the union had the right to unite, to go on strike and to negotiate with employers as stipulated in the Convention of the International Labor Organization.

"We will work as usual if the foreign companies agree to our demands. But if the negotiations fail, we will go on strike again," said Tanjung. (nvn)