Workers Said Indomaret Boycott Not Just A Bluff, Anthony Salim's Retailer Owned By Conglomerate, Anthony Salim, Will Be Disrupted By Its Business

Indomaret outlets. (Photo: Doc. Sultan Syarif Kasim Airport)

JAKARTA - The Indonesian Metal Workers Union Federation (FSPMI) plans to boycott by not shopping at Indomaret. This is a form of support for a worker named Anwar Bessy who was convicted by PT Indomarco Prismatama (Indomaret) for destroying gypsum during a demonstration related to the 2020 holiday allowance (THR).

FSPMI President Riden Hatam Aziz said the boycott threat was not just a bluff. This is because currently the boycott plan is being socialized to all workers who are members of FSPMI and KSPI. He reminded, if this action goes ahead it will have an impact on the company's business.

Quoted from Indomaret.co.id, until March 2021, Indomaret has 18,603 outlets. All of them are scattered in Java, Bali, Madura, West Nusa Tenggara, Sumatra, Batam, Kalimantan, Sulawesi and Maluku. Each outlet provides more than 5,000 food, nonfood, general merchandise, and fresh products.

"If this boycott is really carried out, with the number of KSPI workers and their families reaching millions, it will more or less affect the company's business", he said in a written statement received by VOI, Wednesday, May 19.

Riden said the origin of the problems that occurred. This problem stems from protests by workers regarding the THR at PT Indomarco Prismatama, which only paid THR 50 percent from previous years.

"Since many years ago, workers who have worked for 7 years get THR of 2 times a month's wages. But in 2020, workers only get THR of 1 time a month's wages. In other words, the THR is only half", he said.

According to Riden, what has become the custom for THR payments has become normative. In other words, management must keep paying like the previous year. The management stated that they had paid 100 percent, in fact, they paid 50 percent of the previous THR.

"There are tens of thousands of Indomaret outlets throughout Indonesia that remain open during the pandemic. So that workers think that the company is not experiencing a loss. Therefore, they protested when the 2020 THR was reduced compared to previous years", he said.

The company's new policy of reducing THR payments from the previous year sparked protests from workers, and it was recently discovered that gypsum walls had been damaged. Based on the confession of Anwar Bessy alias Ambon, this happened accidentally.

Riden said that FSPMI regretted the company's impression of insisting on imprisoning Anwar Bessy. Even though this problem should be discussed carefully.

"This case should not be brought to court. Because the criminal trial is the last resort. Based on Supreme Court regulation Number 2 of 2012 concerning the settlement of minor criminal offenses and the number of fines in the Criminal Code, settlement is encouraged through compensation, instead of a judicial process", he said.

Furthermore, Riden suspects that this conviction is a form of intrigue by the company not to pay the workers' THR as usual by taking advantage of the reasons for the COVID-19 pandemic and the Omnibus Law. Workers believe that PT Indomarco Prismatama is a franchise company that has no impact due to the pandemic.

"For this reason, several Indomarco workers' unions in various areas such as Jakarta, Tangerang, and Bogor are currently pursuing legal proceedings through the Industrial Relations Court (PHI) so that the company will pay the THR as usual", he said.