Anthony Salim's Indomaret Workers Boycott Action Still Continues, Next Week At Central Java And East Java Stores

Indomaret outlets. (Photo: Doc. Indomarco Prismatama)

JAKARTA - President of the Confederation of Indonesian Workers Unions (KSPI), Said Iqbal, stressed that the threat of a boycott of Indomaret by the labor unions was not canceled. This means that the boycott of Indomaret products will continue, considering that there is no agreement regarding the conflict between Indomaret and its employee Anwar Bessy.

"The boycott of Indomaret products that will be campaigned for by FSPMI which is fully supported by KSPI will stop, not true. The truth is that the Indomaret boycott will continue next week," said Iqbal, in a virtual press conference, Friday, May 28.

Iqbal confirmed that the boycott campaign for Indomaret products, which will be carried out next week, will follow constitutional procedures, laws and regulations as well as the COVID-19 health protocol. The exact schedule, said Iqbal, will be decided today together with the President of the Federation of Indonesian Metal Workers Union (FSPMI), Riden Hatam Aziz.

"The boycott will be continued next week at Indomaret outlets, Jakarta, Central Java, East Java. Banners will be installed, carrying posters in front of Indomaret stores and Indomaret stores in several major cities, by conveying a boycott of Indomaret products, don't shopping at Indomaret, "he said.

For your information, the first action of the Indomaret boycott campaign was carried out on Thursday, May 27, at the PT Indomarco Prismatama (Indomaret Group) office, where Anwar Bessy works, which is located in Ancol, North Jakarta.

Iqbal said, apart from taking to the streets, his party would also carry out a boycott campaign for Indomaret through social media. The Indomaret boycott campaign, said Iqbal, will also be held at the International Labor Organization (ILO) session on June 6, 2021. The Indomaret boycott campaign is also planned to be held in front of the Indonesia Stock Exchange Building.

"Indomaret uses the criminal mode to lay off employees, always uses the criminal mode. People are scared, workers are intimidated," he said.

Iqbal said, the reason KSPI and FSPMI reacted in connection with the Anwar Bessy case was because the crime that was sent to Anwar was a message the management was trying to convey to employees working in 18,000 Indomaret outlets throughout Indonesia.

"The management is spreading a message so that all Indomaret employees in 18,000 outlets, each outlet is 10 people, 180 thousand people who work in the Indomaret group are sent a message, if you oppose the management, we do it. This is dangerous, it violates the ethics of its name. , "he said.

As is known, this problem originated from rumors of a reduction in the holiday allowance (THR) by Indomaret management ahead of Eid 2020. At that time, Anwar Bessy, who in fact was a driver delivering goods to the Indomaret shop along with hundreds of other workers gathered together. and protested to Indomaret management about the THR cut.

The protests lasted for 2 days, May 8 and May 11, 2020, located at the Ancol Distribution Center (DC), Jalan Ancol Barat 7 No. 2 Ancol Village, Pademangan District, North Jakarta.

On the day that the action was carried out, there was broken gypsum. However, the damage was not planned in advance by Anwar Bessy and tended to be accidental. However, Indomaret actually sued this.

Therefore, the President of the Federation of Indonesian Metal Workers Unions (FSPMI), Riden Hatam Aziz threatened to boycott Indomaret products if its members were not immediately acquitted of criminal charges.

"If Indomarco management does not respond to our demands, then we will instruct to boycott all Indomaret products throughout Indonesia and I will instruct them to hold demonstrations at all Indomaret head offices or branches throughout Indonesia," he said in a press conference. virtual, Sunday, May 16.

Furthermore, Riden admitted that he was surprised that the case which was considered 'trivial' was brought to court when the workers demanded THR which was their right. According to him, Anwar was emotional, spontaneously moved his hand, hit the gypsum of the office to a hole of approximately 20-25 centimeters (cm).

With this incident, said Riden, Anwar Bessy was immediately prosecuted and now has entered the court in North Jakarta and has had two trials, on May 18 he will enter the third trial.

"The latest information about the gypsum that was perforated was the office space, now it is being demolished, meaning that the room is no longer used by the management. This means that the room actually even if Anwar Bessy's brother is not emotional, it is going to be torn down," he said.