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29 May, 2000Dispute began when a new work policy was introduced with no prior consultation.
INDONESIA: Over 100 senior trade unionists from Asia attending the 7th IMF Asian Electrical & Electronics Seminar, in Singapore last week, unanimously adopted a resolution on PT Sony Electronics Indonesia, where 1,300 workers have been on strike since April 26. In expressing their deep concern about the on-going dispute, the delegates "expressed the hope that this crisis between the company and the workers would be amicably settled ... and urged the company management in Indonesia and its parent company in Japan to immediately initiate necessary actions to find a speedy settlement to the problems facing the union and workers of Sony."
The workforce at the plant, which is located in Cibutung, Bekasi, and manufactures audio-visual products for export under the brandname Sony, is 80 per cent women workers. The strike was called by the Serikat Pekerja Metal Indonesia (SPMI) when the company introduced a new work policy with no prior discussion with either the plant union or the SPMI. The union states that the new regulations require workers to perform their daily 8.5-hour workday, plus possible overtime, in a standing position. Also, workers must seek prior approval to use the toilet and failure to do so results in disciplinary action and allegedly influences a worker's annual job evaluation. Prior written permission from one's superiors to visit the company doctor is now necessary as well. For these reasons, plus the fact that negotiations for a wage increase ended in deadlock and 108 permanent workers lost their jobs when at the same time 70 contract workers were hired, workers have downed their tools.
The IMF has forwarded this information to its Japanese affiliate, the Japan Council of Metalworkers' Unions (IMF-JC), and requested an appropriate follow-up.
The workforce at the plant, which is located in Cibutung, Bekasi, and manufactures audio-visual products for export under the brandname Sony, is 80 per cent women workers. The strike was called by the Serikat Pekerja Metal Indonesia (SPMI) when the company introduced a new work policy with no prior discussion with either the plant union or the SPMI. The union states that the new regulations require workers to perform their daily 8.5-hour workday, plus possible overtime, in a standing position. Also, workers must seek prior approval to use the toilet and failure to do so results in disciplinary action and allegedly influences a worker's annual job evaluation. Prior written permission from one's superiors to visit the company doctor is now necessary as well. For these reasons, plus the fact that negotiations for a wage increase ended in deadlock and 108 permanent workers lost their jobs when at the same time 70 contract workers were hired, workers have downed their tools.
The IMF has forwarded this information to its Japanese affiliate, the Japan Council of Metalworkers' Unions (IMF-JC), and requested an appropriate follow-up.