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Transjakarta drivers strike as contract ends
More than 100 bus drivers and other staff went on strike on Monday
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ore than 100 bus drivers and other staff went on strike on Monday. The employees of Transjakarta operator PT Jakarta Express Trans (JET), which operates corridor 1 (Kota - Blok M), fear losing their jobs. The company's right to operate the corridor ends this week.
One of the drivers, Mahmudi, said that 149 employees were on strike, demanding that the company pay wage increases, among other issues.
Workers and company representatives have met to discuss their demands.
'There was progress in the meeting but we need to meet again,' he told The Jakarta Post on Monday.
According to Mahmudi, the employees will return to work on Tuesday.
PT JET's contract to operate corridor I ends on June 14. The company has operated the corridor since 2004.
State-owned bus company Damri has won the right to operate the route and has 66 articulated buses, purchased from China in January. Since then, PT JET has helped serve corridor 6 (Ragunan - Dukuh Atas) and corridor 9 (Pinang Ranti - Pluit).
Transjakarta management authority head M. Akbar declined to comment when asked about the impact of the strike, saying that it was an issue between PT JET and its staffers.
'A negotiation is underway, so I have been told. The issue is about the company's obligation to its employees,' he told reporters at City Hall.
Akbar also called on JET drivers and staff to be patient as hundreds of new buses will arrive this year.
'We are expecting 76 new articulated buses in October and 328 more in December. Even though JET will no longer be a Transjakarta operator, I am sure there will be a lot of vacant positions for the drivers and others to be filled. They just have to wait a few months,' Akbar said.
The city's decision to tender the rights to Transjakarta routes have been challenged by existing operators.
Four operators, PT Trans Batavia, PT Jakarta Trans Metropolitan, PT Jakarta Mega Trans and PT Trans Mayapada Busway, have criticized the city for putting out to tender the seven corridors that they have run since 2003.
The operators argue that the tender does not have a solid legal basis because it was carried out based on Gubernatorial Decree No. 173/2010 on tendering for Transjakarta buses and operations.
The decree is felt to be against articles 158 and 159 of Law No.22/2009 which state that tenders be regulated by transportation ministerial decree.
