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Garuda to review business practices after Harleygate
Embroiled by Harleygate and allegations of misconduct toward its employees, flag carrier Garuda Indonesia has promised to make changes to its business and human resources policies
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span>Embroiled by Harleygate and allegations of misconduct toward its employees, flag carrier Garuda Indonesia has promised to make changes to its business and human resources policies.
Garuda’s acting president director, Fuad Rizal, said the airline was committed to good corporate governance.
“[State-Owned Enterprises Minister] Pak Erick [Thohir] instructed us to maintain our moral standards and the company’s operations until the shareholders meeting is held,” he said on Thursday after a meeting with the minister. “Pak Erick also reminded us that good corporate governance is a must.”
The publicly listed airline is set to hold an extraordinary shareholders meeting on Jan. 22, 2020, to appoint new members of its board of directors after Erick and the board of commissioners dismissed the previous members over alleged smuggling involving former president director Ari Askhara.
Officials from the Finance Ministry’s Customs and Excise Directorate General discovered an undeclared disassembled Harley-Davidson motorcycle and upmarket Brompton bicycles on board a new Airbus A330-900 that was delivered from France on Nov. 17.
An investigation by the SOEs Ministry’s audit committee shed light on the Harley owner. Erick said during a joint press conference with Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati on Dec. 6 that the committee had found evidence the motorcycle had been ordered by a suspect indentified as AA, Ari’s initials.
The board of commissioners appointed on Monday acting executives to temporarily run the airline following the suspension of four directors allegedly linked to the case.
Garuda’s commercial director Pikri Ilham Kurniasyah said after meeting with Erick on Thursday that the airline would restructure the company and review its overseas routes.
“First of all, we will strengthen our domestics services, the backbone of the company. Secondly, we will focus on the Middle East and destinations in Asia, such as Korea and Japan,” said Pikri.
He added that Garuda would no longer operate routes that were not profitable.
“We will review our flights to European countries, as there are already many players that fly these long-haul routes. Flying to Europe is not urgent for us,” he said.
As a first step, Garuda has decided to suspend its Jakarta-London route.
In addition to reviewing its business practices, Garuda has also stated in will implement measures to improve the working conditions of its employees.
“Past staff rotations that were not in accordance with regulations will be reviewed,” said Garuda’s acting human capital director Aryaperwira Adileksana on Thursday. “We will reassign staff according to the company’s needs.”
The Garuda Indonesia Cabin Crew Union (Ikagi) has criticized Ari’s management for grounding crew members without clear and professional reasons. Several cabin crew members recently spoke to The Jakarta Post under condition of anonymity, and stated that the airline had stopped providing overnight accommodation for cabin crew on several international routes in an effort to cut costs, forcing them to work for more than 16 hours straight.
However, the airline’s alleged mistreatment of its employees goes far beyond working hours.
Erick ordered on Wednesday the country’s state-owned enterprises (SOEs) to provide more protections for female employees to ensure they would no longer face sexual harassment in male-dominated industries.
The minister’s statement came amid allegations that Garuda Indonesia’s executives had sexually exploited and harassed the airline’s flight attendants.
“In the future we will ensure there is no sexual harassment of female employees in SEOs. We cannot let women […] fall victim to such unacceptable acts,” Erick stressed.
In response, Garuda has promised to be more attentive to its employees, stating it will give its cabin crews sufficient time to rest between long-haul flights, among other measures.
“We will also ensure the safety and quality of Garuda flights,” said acting operational director Tumpal Manumpak Hutapea on Thursday.
Separately, the Garuda Indonesia Workers Union (Sekarga) expressed support for the changes within the airline.
"The [union] fully supports the temporary change of management in Garuda made by the government," said Sekarga chairman Tomy Tampati during a press conference in Jakarta on Thursday. (bry)
