Worker sues labor mediation agency
Worker sues labor mediation agency
JAKARTA (JP): A female worker who lost her job in the latest dispute with the textile manufacturer she was working for is suing the central government's labor mediation agency for giving the green light to the company to fire her.
Ngati Sriyani was fired by PT Sandratex, a state-owned textile company in Tangerang, in February 1994 on the pretext that she had skipped work for nine consecutive days.
The company then sought permission from P4D, the Tangerang labor mediation agency, to dismiss her and the request was duly granted. The P4P, the labor mediation agency under the Ministry of Manpower, upheld the decision in May, according to the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH) which is representing the female worker.
Under both the initial verdict by the mediation agency and the final verdict, Ngati was viewed as having been fired for indiscipline and, therefore, was not entitled to any severance pay.
Ngati, a resident of Ciledug, also in Tangerang, had been working for the company for 18 years. Her last position in the company was as head of a training team, earning Rp 4,895 a day.
Apong Herlina of the legal aid institute said that Ngati had a doctor's certificate stating that she and her children had been ill during the time she had missed work.
Apong believes that the company had been trying to get rid of Ngati because she appeared to be winning the long drawn court battle she had with the management for the right to paid maternity leave and compensation for her fourth child.
In the battle that dates back to the 1980s, the management had refused to grant her the paid leave because the company policy only allows the facility for up to the second child and that paid leave had been given to her for her third child out of kindness.
Apong, in a statement made available yesterday, said the institute filed the lawsuit against P4P with the Jakarta State Administrative Court on Jan. 11.
In the lawsuit, Apong acknowledged that there had been a delay in filing the court action, but pointed out that her client did not receive the formal letter notifying her that she had been dismissed until October.
Her client, she added, is demanding that the court annul the P4P letter authorizing Sandratex to fire her.
Apong said that Ngati has the upper edge in her court battle for the right to paid maternity leave and compensation for her fourth child.
She pointed out that the Jakarta High Court had ruled in her client's favor and that Sandratex has since appealed to the Supreme Court against the decision.
Ngati's battle with the management has seen changing fortunes. The Tangerang labor mediation agency earlier ruled in Ngati's favor, then the central government's mediation agency ruled in the management's favor. The South Jakarta court, to which Ngati turned, said it had no authority to try the case. But the Jakarta High Court took her case and then ruled in her favor.
Then came the sacking of Ngati by Sandratex. (emb)