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)