Hotels, restaurants hire interns to cut costs

JP/ID Nugroho
Fri, 09/12/2008 10:51 AM | East Java

Like many workers in general, Murni (not her real name), a vocational high school (SMK) apprentice in a renowned department store and shopping center in Surabaya, has worked as a full-time cashier for almost a year.

Working five hours on shift, from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m., six days a week, she gets spending money that is only slightly less than the provincial minimum wage.

"What makes me different is I usually wear my school uniform, and I did not apply to work here," she told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

The 17-year-old student admitted she was proud of working in the prestigious mall with the salary she uses to pay school fees.

Andi, another apprentice in a similar program in a hotel in the city, expressed similar sentiments, saying he and his colleagues were treated as casual laborers and employed only when the hotel needed them to serve guests during peak seasons and weekends.

He admitted getting Rp 500,000 each month in pocket money.

Most of these apprentices are under the age of 18, yet perform their tasks with a responsibility similar to that shouldered by permanent or outsourced workers.

Wawan (not his real name), a contract-based worker in a fast-food restaurant in Central Surabaya, has been employed for almost two years, and he and his colleagues have extended their work contracts twice.

"Several were told to stop working before their contracts expired, and our employers are looking for high school graduates to replace us," he said.

"I will celebrate this upcoming Idul Fitri because I am seeking a new job elsewhere as my contract expires."

Wawan added he received the minimum wage plus daily meals.

"There are no allowances or social security programs, and our pay is cut if we are absent without a letter from a hospital or physician," he said.

He added all employees there had contracts, with the employer imposing sanctions for any violation of the contracts.

He questioned the operation of the U.S.-based fast-food restaurant and its commitment to employees, saying: "We're aware of the restaurant's wrongful labor policy, but we have no alternatives and there are no other companies offering better working conditions and pay."

All these apprentices concurred that restaurants, malls and hotels were implementing apprenticeship programs and contract-based employment as ways of reducing labor costs, and thus paying workers poorly.

The Surabaya Legal Aid Institution (LBH) condemned the manipulation of the apprenticeship program and contract-based system, which it said had long been in use by local and international corporations working with local education institutions to cut down on labor costs.

"The apprenticeship program has been manipulated. It is exploitation, and encourages child labor, which are against labor, education and child protection laws," said Ridjal Alifi Ramadhan, head of LBH's labor division.

He said the education law stipulated apprentices were not workers, but students conducting a labor-oriented study without the need to do work as employees.

"It is quite strange and goes beyond the law when certain vocational schools sign an MOU with certain businesses before carrying out the program," he said.

"What is really behind these agreements?"

He called on parents to file complaints against vocational schools that he said "have indirectly employed their students in the international brand corporations because the practice is against the national law and international labor conventions and human rights".