Verdict on Enteos Club dispute to be announced

JAKARTA (JP): The Manpower Ministry's Committee on Workers Disputes has given the management of PT Ilmu Inti Swadaya, which runs the Enteos Club, and its workers their last chance to turn up for a hearing on their dispute before the ministry announces its verdict on May 9.

The ministry's Director for Labor Standards Sabar Sianturi told 11 worker delegates of the club on Thursday that since the workers had not shown up at the first hearing the week before, and because the management also did not turn up yesterday, both parties would have just one more chance for a hearing.

"We will read the verdict on May 9 with or without the presence of either parties," Sianturi said.

One of the workers' lawyers from the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation, Surya Wirawan, told the committee yesterday that the workers did not attend the hearing last week because the committee's subpoena reached them after the hearing date.

Fifty workers from among the club's 170 employees sought the Legal Aid Foundation's representation to obtain confirmation about whether they have been dismissed or not. The club closed down in November last year.

The workers said yesterday that the management should pay them full salaries instead of stipends if they are still considered employees, or give them severance pay if they have been dismissed.

"So far we have only received between Rp 50,000 (US$22.5) and Rp 100,000 each month," Rahmat Sudaryanto, one of the workers, said.

According to the workers, the dispute started in December 1994 when the club paid them small amounts, with the promise that they would later receive the balance of their salaries. At the same time the club failed to pay its electricity bill to the owner of the premises, PT Mulia Perdana Pacific.

All workers were told to turn up every day despite the lack of electricity and telephones as a result of unpaid bills. During that time, the employees only received stipends until last October, even though the company had reopened with all utilities restored.

On Nov. 1, the owner of the building once again disconnected the electricity and telephones. The workers were again expected to turn up for work even though the club was without facilities.

"We all have been too patient, now what we want is to know about our working status and salaries and severance payments," Wati, another worker, said.

Linda J. Tani, the club's president, said in a meeting with several representatives of the workers in January that the club could not afford to pay the workers' salaries because it was no longer operational.

She advised the workers to seek new jobs and offered to give them Rp 200,000 each in severance pay, which they refused.

Lawyer Surya said yesterday that the committee would decide on one of two existing alternatives: approve the management's request to pronounce the club bankrupt, or advise it to meet the workers' demands.(03)