'Wanita Indonesia' sued by ex-reporters

JAKARTA (JP): Seven former journalists of Wanita Indonesia tabloid have filed a lawsuit against the publication at the East Jakarta District Court for keeping their names in the masthead after their dismissal.

The plaintiffs asked the court to order PT Citra Media Persada, the tabloid's publisher owned by former president Soeharto's eldest daughter Siti "Tutut" Hardijanti Rukmana, and the company's business manager, M. Djaelani, to pay Rp 418 million (US$38,000) in compensation.

The plaintiffs' lawyer, Asmaun Abas, said his clients were dismissed last month but that their names had still been on the tabloid's masthead in its Sept. 13 edition.

"My clients are facing difficulty finding new jobs because their names are still listed in the masthead," Asmaun said.

He said the seven plaintiffs -- Djumriati, Syahnizar, Eryda Silitonga, Devi Rinjani, Adri Budiarto, Musri Lukistriningrum and Eni Kusumawati -- were asking the company to pay them wages worth Rp 9.8 million for September since they had been listed as reporters there.

The publisher provided the reporters a total of Rp 135 million in severence pay on Sept. 4, he said.

PT Citra Media's human resources and personnel manager Nandang refused to comment on the lawsuit.

Djumriati said he and his colleagues had been forced to resign because they once questioned the company's management over an unpaid bill of Rp 1 billion.

"We were dismissed because we were being too critical of the company," she said.

The company dismissed a total of 14 employees last month, she said, adding that another 20 employees had been let go previously.

She said that the company had claimed the dismissals were part of its efforts to improve efficiency.

However, the company announced in a newspaper recently that it was searching for new employees, including journalists, she said. (jun)