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PLN urged to pay employees' salaries
Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo has urged state-owned electricity company PT PLNâs Central Java distribution office to pay the salaries of its 2,300 employees amounting to Rp 48
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entral Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo has urged state-owned electricity company PT PLN's Central Java distribution office to pay the salaries of its 2,300 employees amounting to Rp 48.6 billion (US$4.1 million) following a Supreme Court ruling in 2010.
The court ruling stipulated that if PLN could not pay the salaries for the period of 2007-2009, five assets belonging to the company would be auctioned to pay the salaries.
The governor said that if an auction were to take place, there would be blackouts across the province, arguing that his people would become restless.
'PLN is obligated to the pay salaries,' Ganjar said in Semarang on Thursday.
He said PLN must adhere to the court ruling as it was final. 'I asked PLN to communicate with its workers' union. I just don't want this issue to be linked to the blackout issue,' Ganjar said.
The conflict between PLN's Central Java distribution office with its workers' union arose when the latter demanded the company give them pay equal to that of employees of its subsidiary company, PT Indonesia Power, who are believed to receive higher salaries.
Legal proceedings in the case began in 2009 and in October 2010 the court issued a ruling in favor of the employees' demand.
The Court ordered PLN to pay the difference in the salaries of PLN and Indonesia Power employees from January 2007 to February 2009.
When the company did not do as it was told, the court planned to seize the company's assets, including PLN's Central Java building, the residential complex at PLN's Semarang office and PLN warehouses in Demak and Kudus regencies.
Previously, general manager of PLN Central Java-Yogyakarta office, Djoko R. Abumanan, said that such seizures might cause blackouts across Central Java because the assets were located where services as well as electricity monitoring and distribution activities were conducted.
'Even our call center facility is in the assets to be seized. Who will guarantee that electricity is distributed to customers?' Djoko said recently.
Ganjar, however, assured that the seizures would not cause blackouts in the province.
Chairman of PLN Central Java-Yogyakarta branch's workers' union, Bambang Andang Jaya, echoed his words, saying that there would be no blackouts if the court seized the company's assets.
'We can guarantee that the electricity supply in Central Java will not be compromised,' Bambang said.
