Semen Indonesia Is Assessed As Ignoring Employee Rights

JAKARTA - Lokataru Law and Human Rights Office as the attorney for the Semen Indonesia Employees Union (SKSI) regrets that PT Semen Indonesia (Persero) Tbk, as a large state-owned company, has actually committed violations of its employees' rights.

"It is ironic that when the company gets a big profit, it forgets to provide for the welfare of its employees, by ignoring employee rights," explained Lokataru's official statement signed by Haris Azhar, Nurkholis Hidayat, and Illian Deta Arta Sari, quoted on Tuesday, June 16.

In 2019, PT Semen Indonesia (Persero) Tbk controlled the cement market around 55.8 percent after acquiring the company PT Holcim Indonesia. Still in the same year, 2019, the net profit earned by Semen Indonesia was around Rp. 2.3 trillion.

There should be no reason to delay the fulfillment of employee rights which have been going on for a long time. Therefore, the Semen Indonesia Employees Union (SKSI) continues to fight for injustice and in 2019 there have been attempts at bipartite negotiations but they have not yielded any results, "explained Lokataru.

The industrial relations dispute (PHI) between PT Semen Indonesia (Persero) Tbk and SKSI occurred due to a violation of the company's management of the Manpower Law Number 13 of 2003 and the Collective Labor Agreement (PKB) 2019-2021 made between the company and SKSI.

Some of the fundamental problems that occur include the issue of salary differences, pension fund management, and reward for religious journey for exemplary employees.

"SKSI had a good intention to remind them through dozens of letters but there was no reply," said Lokataru.

Semen Indonesia is also considered to have unilaterally issued three Directors' Decrees without any discussion with SKSI, causing losses to employees. Due to the ongoing dispute, the attorney took the initiative to send letters to several related parties such as the Ministry of BUMN, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Ministry of Manpower, and the Office of the Presidential Staff.

"Lokataru urges related parties and shareholders to participate in reprimanding the Board of Directors of Semen Indonesia and encouraging the resolution of current labor disputes. We also ask Semen Indonesia to immediately resolve disputes in accordance with the basic principles of the Pancasila state and the 1945 Constitution in creating harmonious and just industrial relations. , "explained Lokataru.

In the first quarter of 2020, Semen Indonesia managed to record an increase in revenue and net profit. Based on the company's financial statements, the company's net income for the SMGR-coded stock in the first quarter reached IDR 8.58 trillion, an increase of 5.5 percent compared to the actual revenue for the same period the previous year.

Meanwhile, Semen Indonesia's net profit reached IDR 446.45 billion in the first quarter of 2020. This figure shot up 66.5 percent compared to the net profit in the first quarter of 2019 which was only IDR 268.10 billion.