PT Paper Leces Will Be Bankrupt, DPR Questions Employee Salary Distribution

JAKARTA - PT Kertas Leces (Persero) is one of seven companies targeted for closure by the Ministry of State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN). Member of the House of Representatives Commission VI Ananta Wahana also questioned how the priority of asset distribution should be if a company went bankrupt. In particular, regarding the payment of employee salaries.

This is because in the case of the bankruptcy of PT Kertas Leces (Persero), the company's employees had held demonstrations to demand their rights to both salary and severance pay.

"What is the composition (asset distribution) like? Because if we look at the Manpower Act, employees must be prioritized. These (employees) are the most marginal group," he said at the Committee Meeting on Restructuring and Restructuring State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN) with the Association Indonesian Curator and Administrator (AKPI) regarding the bankruptcy of PT Kertas Leces, at the DPR Building, Parliament Complex, Senayan, Monday, June 13.

Responding to this question, General Chairman of AKPI Jimmy Simanjuntak explained that if a company goes bankrupt, the employee's salary is a component that will be given or disbursed first, then creditors, then severance pay.

"There are two kinds of bills for employees, one for severance pay, and another for salary debts that are in arrears. The Constitutional Court's decision number 63 says that what is given the privilege before that is the salary debt that is in arrears, which runs but does not precede separatists or creditors who have material guarantees, ' said Jimmy.

On the same occasion, Jimmy also explained that PT Kertas Leces is currently in the stage of giving or selling assets.

"The PT Kertas Leces case has entered the settlement or sale stage. This means that it has entered an insolvency state and there is no longer any means of reconciliation. The final goal will be the termination or dissolution of the bankruptcy," he said.

Previously reported, the Ministry of State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN) plans to disband four SOEs. The four state-owned companies are part of seven state-owned companies targeted for closure. The dissolution itself will be processed first through the Suspension of Debt Payment Obligations (PKPU).

The four state-owned companies in question are PT Merpati Nusantara Airlines, PT Istaka Karya (Persero), PT Financing Armada Niaga Nasional (PANN), and PT Kertas Leces (Persero).

Special Staff to the Minister of SOEs, Arya Sinulingga, said that his party would first process the case through the PKPU trial, before the four state-owned companies were legally dissolved.

"We will take it back to PKPU, for Merpati it will go to PKPU as well, Istaka Karya as well. PT PANN and PT Kertas Leces are also being brought to PKPU for the process of being disbanded," said Arya to reporters, Tuesday, May 17.