The union is also pushing for the payment of back wages to workers who have been unpaid since March 2020, following a month-long strike. The said strike forced the company to agree to new conditions of employment. However, the company has since used the COVID-19 pandemic as an excuse to stop work without pay for outsourced site workers.
“Indonesia’s Manpower Act requires employers to pay workers’ wages whenever the work stoppage is caused by external conditions. Of particular importance at this time of the year in Indonesia are the funds intended to cover workers’ Hari Raya (Eid) celebrations,” F-SERBUK General Secretary Khamid Istakhori said.
On 21 May, the union negotiated with the company and reached an agreement on the payment of the workers’ Eid contribution. The union is now coordinating with the local government to realise wage payments and the redeployment of workers on the site, subject to physical distancing measures. Guangdong Power Engineering is the main subsidiary of the massive state-owned Energy China conglomerate.