Workers 'must get holiday bonuses'

Workers 'must get holiday bonuses'

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Manpower Bomer Pasaribu said that
nearly all workers should be able to enjoy their Christmas and
Idul Fitri bonuses after only two companies requested exemptions
from paying the annual bonus.

"Of around 15,000 companies employing 10 workers or more, only
two requested that they be exempted from the 1994 Ministerial
Decree on Annual Bonuses. This means a majority of companies are
assumed to be paying the 13th monthly salary to their workers,"
he said during a breaking-of-the-fast gathering at his official
residence here on Friday.

Of the requests, both from Central Java companies, one was
accepted for economic reasons while the other was rejected. The
minister would not reveal the names of the companies.

Despite the prolonged economic crisis, Bomer said there were
positive signs of recovery. He said he was particularly surprised
that despite the thousands of labor-intensive companies operating
in the greater Jakarta area, very few of their workers went on
strike over the annual bonuses.

"This is a good signal and shows that they are complying with
the ministerial decree." He said some two million workers were
expected to leave Jakarta to celebrate Christmas or the Idul
Fitri holiday in their hometowns.

The ministerial decree regulates that an annual bonus
equivalent to at least one-month's salary must be paid seven days
before either Christmas or Idul Fitri.

Syaufii Samsuddin, director general for industrial relations
and labor standards at the ministry, said that last year 147
companies were allowed to defer payment of the annual bonuses to
their workers because of the monetary crisis.

Besides the recovering economy, Syaufii pointed to greater
awareness from management of workers' rights in the smoother
labor-management relations of recent months.

"Such awareness is expected to continue growing among the
management to repair labor conditions in the future," he said.

Bomer also called on workers not to resort to violence and
force during disputes with management.

"In the climate of reform, both the management and workers
should establish bipartite, or tripartite, negotiations and use a
legal approach in seeking a solution to their industrial
conflicts," he said.

The minister regretted recent violence by workers in Jakarta
and Tangerang in fighting for their interests.

"Both workers and employers have their rights, so the two
sides should respect one another. Workers should go through legal
procedures if they fail in their negotiations with management,"
he said.

"The use of force will never produce a peaceful solution or
create industrial harmony."

Bomer was referring to industrial conflicts at two footwear
factories in Jakarta and Serang, West Java.

Hundreds of dismissed workers of PT Kong Tai Indonesia
damaged the office of the company's lawyer O.C. Kaligis. The
workers rampaged after the management rejected their demands for
severance pay.

Some 6,000 workers of PT ADIS in Serang damaged the office of
the labor union at the plant during a dispute over payment of the
annual bonus. The management later met the workers' demand. (rms)