Indonesian pulp and paper union calls 3-day strike

The workers are employed by five different outsourcing firms that supply labour to PT. Tanjungenim Lestari Pulp and Paper operations. Workers will take industrial action from 13 to 15 June 2018 at two locations in South Sumatera Province and Lampung Province. 

Outsourcing Workers at Tanjungenim Lestari Pulp and Paper, which is a subsidiary of the Japanese general trading company, Marubeni, are members of the Federation of Indonesian Pulp & Paper Union (FSP2KI), affiliated to IndustriALL Global Union. The company employs around 2,500 workers of which more than 1,700 are employed at outsourcing firms.  

The workers will strike at five outsourcing companies namely PT. Inti Bumi Mas, PT. Wira Putra Perkasa, PT. Mayapada Clinic Pratama, PT. Fajar Muara Indah, and PT. Kaliguma Transindo.

• At Inti Bumi Mas, a maintenance and repair company for the mill, workers are striking to demand severance pay that meets terms and conditions, and have rejected an offer that is below the legal limit. The Company has terminated the workers after not getting a new contract from the pulp and paper mill. 
• Workers at Wira Putra Perkasa, a service company loading and unloading raw materials at the mill, are strking to demand permanent contracts in line with Indonesian labour law, after working at the company for more than a year. 
• Workers at Mayapada Clinic Pratama, which provides health care to the mill’s employees and their families, are also demanding permanent contracts as required under Indonesian law. 
• Workers at Fajar Muara Indah, a contractor maintenance and service company for Tanjungenim Lestari, will strike to protest against working excessive hours at a salary that is below the minimum wage. Workers have no paid leave or social security protection for health and pensions. Furthermore, they are not provided with personal protective equipment and have no work agreement. 
• Workers at Kaliguma Transindo, which operates at Tanjungenim Lestari’s port in Lampung Province, will be demanding a salary increase that should have been paid from 1 January 2018. 

IndustriALL’s assistant general secretary, Kemal Özkan, said: 

“We support our affiliate FSP2KI in taking a stand against the bad and illegal practices carried out by PT Tanjungenim Lestari Pulp and Paper suppliers. We call on the company to take responsibility for the workers providing crucial support to its operations.”