Workers protest management's breaking of deal
TANGERANG (JP): More than 10,000 workers of PT Hardaya Aneka Shoes, which produces Nike shoes, protested again yesterday after the company broke a deal made after the first demonstration Tuesday.
There were episodes of violence in demonstration, with workers smashing the company's windows and the windshields of two cars in the parking lot.
Dozens of riot police and military officers were sent to calm the angry workers. A police helicopter hovered above the factory.
The demonstration started at about 7 a.m yesterday when thousands of workers entered the factory on Jl. Gajah Tunggal, Tangerang, 40 kilometers southwest of here.
On Tuesday they demanded their employers pay them the new minimum full-time wage of Rp 172,000 a month. A worker said they did get Rp 172,000, "but this includes overtime pay".
Another worker said they wanted to be given their wage sheets, because they were never told the details of their wages.
The old minimum wage for Greater Jakarta was Rp 156,000 a month. The new minimum full-time wage of Rp 172,000 a month became effective this month.
Siti Hartati Murdaya, the company's president director, denied the workers' statements. In a letter to The Jakarta Post on Thursday, she said the company paid Rp 172,000 in wages plus overtime allowances. Each worker got Rp 259,747 a month, Siti said.
Tuesday's demonstration ended with the management agreeing to pay Rp 172,000 (US$71.66) a month minimum wage for new workers.
The management also agreed that anyone who had worked at the firm for more than a year would get an additional eight percent plus a premium based on 30 working days.
But the management said Wednesday the premium would be based on 25 working days, instead of the agreed 30.
This appears to have enraged the workers, because the deal was made in front of Tangerang legislators and a representative from the Ministry of Manpower.
The workers said that yesterday's demonstration had nothing to do with the rumor that the company would fire the union leaders who led Tuesday's protest. "There were no leaders in Tuesday's or today's demonstrations," a worker said.
The workers ended their protest at about 10 a.m. They were asked to resume work on Monday.
Nike
Nike Indonesia's director of labor practice, Joel Enderle, refused to comment on the demonstrations. He said only Nike's communications director for the Asia Pacific, Marta Benson, was authorized to comment.
From Hong Kong, Marta said she had received detailed reports on the demonstrations.
She said her office had ordered all Nike representatives in the Asia Pacific to issue internal bulletins on any changes to government policies on labor affairs.
"The internal bulletins are expected to improve communications between managements and workers. The demonstrations (in Tangerang) were the result of a miscommunication," she said.
National Police Chief Lt. Gen. Dibyo Widodo and Armed Forces Spokesman Brig. Gen. Slamet Supriadi had earlier warned employers to give workers their rights to avoid any protest that could lead to rioting during the election campaign period. (jun/12)