Conflict continues at Pelindo II

JAKARTA. Internal disputes continued at state-owned port operator PT Pelabuhan Indonesia II (Pelindo II) on Monday, as a group of employees carried out a strike at Tanjung Priok Port, the country’s main gateway.

The port operator, known as Indonesia Port Corporation (IPC), said activities at Tanjung Priok ran normally as 24 ships — foreign and local companies — were seen at the area as of 5 p.m.

“We have served around 20 ships every Monday for the past few years. Today is just another normal day in Tanjung Priok. We did not experience any problems operating the port today because everyone is working normally and according to their job description ,” said IPC corporate secretary Rima Noviyanti.

According to company data, ships that entered the port on Monday included Salvia, Valentine and Satriana, while ships that exited the port after completing loading and unloading activities were, among others, Karin Rainbow, Cougar, Ocean Winer and Mia Mariya.

“We are not going to let anything or any party disrupt our operations since Priok is the most important port in the country. We are going to continue working since this port is a national priority,” she said.

The company had been informed by its labor union that some of its employees would stop working on Monday and Tuesday.

IPC allowed employees to go on strike, but the company had asked them to guarantee that work in the port would be completed according to the regulation, Rima continued.

She emphasized that maintaining normal operations at the port was crucial because demand had been high ahead of the Christmas and New Year holidays.

The port and every related department, such as the customs and excise office, harbor master and port police need to work more efficiently.

“This is a season in which we are seeing a lot of activities in Priok. We will always try our best to make every process smooth,” she said.

Today, IPC employs around 3,000 people in 12 ports under its management. One-third of those employees are based in Priok.

Yan Budi Santoso, a representative of Pelindo II’s labor union, said that the union had instructed all employees to participate in the strike to be held on Monday and Tuesday.

The strike is being carried out in protest against the company’s CEO, Richard Joost Lino, who is in a conflict with Cipto Pramono, the director for human resources at Pelindo II. Cipto resigned from his position last week and established the union.

Yan, who previously served as a corporate secretary in the company, refused to comment on how many employees who did not go to work on Monday.

However, he said that on Sunday night, every employee had been closely monitored by port police, security and Navy officials.

“The labor union has instructed the workers to obey these people because we do not want to see a clash that may worsen conditions. But, we are still sticking with our plan to go on strike,” he said in a message, adding that the union has asked the State-Owned Ministry to fire Lino.

Internal conflict in the company broke last week, with around 20 senior officials proposing to leave their positions in a show of solidarity with Cipto.

Cipto reportedly said that he did not like the way Lino ran the firm and complained of his arrogance.

Lino, however, said that he did not believe in Cipto anymore. (Nurfika Osman)