Pelindo II Asked to End Conflict
Business leaders have called on the management of the Indonesia Port Corporation to immediately resolve an internal conflict that resulted in a strike by workers. They have also urged the company to ensure shipping operations are not disrupted.
The state port operator , known as Pelindo II, has been battling internal conflict following the resignation of dozens of top executives due to disagreements with its chief executive Richard J. Lino.
“Such news is indeed quite disturbing. I am calling on them to immediately settle their internal conflict. It’s not our problem, but we will suffer when things go wrong at the port,” Sofjan Wanandi, the chairman of the Indonesia Employers Association (Apindo), said on Monday.
Pelindo II operates 12 ports in 10 of Indonesia’s provinces, including the country’s busiest port, Tanjung Priok, in North Jakarta.
Tanjung Priok accounts for the more than 50 percent of Indonesia’s export and imports.
The rift in Pelindo II’s management apparently started after a remark by human resources and general affairs director Cipto Pramono while sharing a stage with leaders of a workers union during the company’s anniversary celebrations on Dec. 6.
According to a report by Tempo.co, Richard subsequently asked Cipto — who is also Pelindo II’s acting finance director — to resign as he had lost “trust” in him.
Richard has been in conflict with the union, after accusations that he has not been transparent in his plan for the firm’s expansion in Tanjung Priok.
Richard did not respond to a call and a text message from the Jakarta Globe.
Reuters reported on Monday that more than a hundred workers at Tanjung Priok had embarked on a strike, demanding his resignation.
Pelindo II corporate secretary Rima Novianti, said the strike and internal conflict have not disrupted loading or unloading operations at the port.
“I’ve been at the Tanjung Priok site since 3 a.m. and everything is running as normal,” Rima told Reuters.
“There are strikes but it is limited to a small number of personnel,” said Rima, who is also an executive of the Indonesian Logistics and Forwarders Association (ILFA).
“I didn’t see any disturbances. Activities at the [Tanjung Priok] port continued as normal,” ILFA vice president Anwar Satta told the Jakarta Globe.
“We haven’t received any complaints from our members. But I have also called on the port authority to ensure there will not be any disturbance in the services,” said Anwar, whose organization has a membership of 1,700 companies in Jakarta and more than 6,000 nationwide.
Tanjung Priok is the largest port in the country, which handles shipments of oil, containers, and dry bulk goods in and out of Indonesia.
The company expects the first phase of its new Kalibaru Port, also in North Jakarta, to begin operations by 2017, which will add 4.5 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) worth of capacity to the existing Tanjung Priok.
The port handled 5.7 million TEUs in 2011 and that number is expected to grow to 7.2 million this year, putting a strain on its capacity.
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