Multa Fidrus , The Jakarta Post , Tangerang Mon, 07/28/2008 11:01 AM City
Factories in Tangerang regency remained closed on Saturday, despite government regulations requiring manufacturers to shift at least two workdays a month to the weekend.
None of the 500 manufacturers operating in the regency has implemented the regulation, which was supposed to take effect on July 21 in an attempt to reduce electricity consumption by 10 to 20 percent.
Masruri, human resources manager of PT Surya Toto, a tile and toilet producer located on Jl. Raya Serpong, said only 150 out of a total of 3,200 workers came in to work on Saturday.
"Only employees who work at the incineration section come in on Saturdays," he told The Jakarta Post.
He said although the company supported the new regulation, it would not implement it because the factory uses its own power generator.
"Moreover, we have also been informed by state-owned power company PT PLN we were not included in the power rationing list," he said.
It was a similar story at the factory of PT Hardaya Aneka Shoe Industry (HASI), a supplier for American athletic apparel company Nike.
Agus Widodo, chairman of HASI's worker union, said workers had yet to receive notice from the company management about a change in working hours.
"Everything is the same as usual here. On Saturdays, workers only work for five hours, from 7 a.m. to 12 noon, or from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.," he told the Post.
He said the factory, which employs 7,000 workers, produced on average 15,000 pairs of shoes each day between Monday and Friday, and 10,000 pairs on Saturday.
Hery Rumawatine, chairman of the regency's Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo), said Apindo was still trying to raise awareness among manufacturers about the government regulation.
"We postponed the implementation of the regulation to July 31, pending a memo from Manpower and Transmigration Minister Erman Suparno, because the shift in workdays involves overtime payments," he told the Post.
He said Apindo supported the regulation but it was difficult to implement because of the additional costs to manufacturers of operating on weekends.
Amir Hamzah, head of the external division of the national oil and gas Upstream Regulatory Body (BP Migas), said Friday the supply of gas from BP West Java to Jakarta had normalized on July 24.
He said supplies had resumed after BP West Java completed maintenance works scheduled to end on July 25, but it managed to finish the work two days earlier than scheduled.
PLN's Jakarta and Tangerang office announced Friday it had canceled plans for a rotating blackout in the capital because of "cooperative big consumers".
It said offices and retail centers also managed to lower their energy consumption, thus keeping the firm from having to cut power.
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