Effect given to the recommendations of the committee and the Governing Body - Report No 353, March 2009

Effect given to the recommendations of the Committee and the Governing Body

1. 124. The Committee last examined this case at its June 2008 meeting (302nd Session) [see 350th Report, paras 930–951] and on that occasion:
   • (a) Requested the Government to institute an independent investigation into the allegations that the closure of the PT Cigading Habeam Centre Company and its subsequent reopening as a joint operation with a cooperative run by the army, were aimed at preventing the staging of a strike and putting a unilateral end to an industrial dispute, notably by dismissing all the 481 workers of the company. If the allegations are confirmed, it requests the Government to take all necessary measures to reinstate the 481 dismissed workers as primary remedy; if the judicial authority determines that reinstatement of trade union members is not possible for objective and compelling reasons, adequate compensation should be awarded to remedy all damages suffered and prevent any repetition of such acts in the future, so as to constitute a sufficiently dissuasive sanction against acts of anti-union discrimination.
   • (b) The Committee, deeply regretting the allegations of extensive involvement of the army in the industrial dispute at PT Cigading Habeam Centre Company, and the alleged acts of intimidation and violence towards the dismissed workers, requested the Government to institute an independent investigation into the allegations and, if they are confirmed, to punish those responsible and issue appropriate instructions so as to prevent the repetition of such acts.
2. 125. In a communication dated 18 September 2008, the Government indicates that this case has been settled according to the Indonesian regulations and industrial relations system. In particular, the appeal lodged by the workers at the Supreme Court has been rejected and the settlement of this industrial dispute was carried out on the basis of the P4P Decision No. 1547/557/24-8/X/OHK/9-2005 of 29 September 2005. The Decision has been enforced and both parties agreed and signed the collective agreement. The workers have approved the termination and have received the severance pay. The Government attached a copy of the collective agreement. As for the allegations of military intervention, the Government indicates that there was no military intervention in the settlement of the case. The deputy director of the company indicated on 5 November 2007 that, since 1990, the company has been working with the Baladika cooperative owned by group 1 of the special armed forces but only in the context of training/giving guidance to new employees.
3. 126. With regard to the allegations of anti-union discrimination, the Committee notes with regret that, once again, the Government does not provide any substantially new information. The Committee recalls that, during the previous examination of this case, it deeply regretted that the Government had not provided a reply to the allegations that: (i) the company’s closure and subsequent reopening the next day as a joint operation with a cooperative run by the army, using some 420 outsourced workers provided by the cooperative, were aimed at preventing an impending strike and putting a unilateral end to an industrial dispute, notably by dismissing all the 481 workers of the company; and (ii) in authorizing the dismissals of the 481 workers of PT Cigading Habeam Centre Company, the P4P apparently did not examine the allegations of the anti-union nature of the dismissals nor does it appear that the allegations that an army commander along with the company director had intimidated several workers into signing statements of resignation at the army barracks were examined. In these conditions, and recalling once again that it has always recognized the right to strike by workers and their organizations as a legitimate means of defending their economic and social interests, the Committee once again requests the Government to institute an independent investigation into the allegations that the closure of the PT Cigading Habeam Centre Company and its subsequent reopening as a joint operation with a cooperative run by the army were aimed at putting a unilateral end to an industrial dispute and preventing the staging of a strike, notably by dismissing all 481 workers of the company. If the allegations are confirmed, it requests the Government to take all necessary measures to reinstate the 481 dismissed workers as primary remedy; if the judicial authority determines that reinstatement of trade union members is not possible for objective and compelling reasons, adequate compensation should be awarded to remedy all damages suffered and prevent any repetition of such acts in the future, so as to constitute a sufficiently dissuasive sanction against acts of anti-union discrimination.
4. 127. With regard to the allegations of army involvement, the Committee notes that according to the Government, since 1990, the company has been working with the Baladika cooperative owned by group 1 of the special armed forces but only in the context of training/giving guidance to new employees. The Committee recalls that, during the previous examination of this case, it had noted with deep regret that the Government had not provided a reply to the allegations that: (i) military staff from the special forces of Serang Banten were present during negotiations between the trade union and the company prior to its closure; (ii) since February 2005 the military has guarded the company premises to keep away the 481 dismissed workers; (iii) the Special Forces Group I Vice-Commander Letkol Sumardi intimidated members of the complainant trade union into resigning from the company leading to an average of 250 resignations under duress until 1 August 2007; and (iv) on 21 March 2006, in the framework of a military exercise taking place within the company premises, approximately 60 soldiers with two military vehicles and one helicopter shot blanks at workers protesting in front of the company, causing them shock and injuring two persons. Noting with regret that the Government once again fails to reply to these allegations, the Committee once again requests the Government to institute an independent investigation into the allegations of extensive involvement of the army in the industrial dispute at PT Cigading Habeam Centre Company, and the alleged acts of intimidation and violence towards the dismissed workers and, if they are confirmed, to punish those responsible and issue appropriate instructions so as to prevent the repetition of such acts. The Committee requests to be kept informed of developments in relation to this case.