Sailing Businesspersons Threaten to Go on Strike
Tuesday, 25 April, 2006 | 18:12 WIB

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: Members of the Central Leadership Council of Indonesian People’s Sailing Businesspersons Association (DPP Perla) are threatening to go on strike.

This is because 200 of the ships that they own have been confiscated for no clear reason by police and customs officials in harbors throughout Indonesia.

According to DPP Secretary General Abdul Rasyid Gani, the ships being confiscated has resulted in at least 3,600 crew members, 500 drivers and 5,000 harbor workers losing their jobs.
”If this continues, we will go on strike,” he said yesterday at Sunda Kelapa Harbor.

Their ships were confiscated five months ago, mainly suspected of carrying illegal timber.

According to Rasyid, based on Decree No.21/1992 on Indonesian Sailing, the ships should not have been confiscated because the owners are not responsible for the ship’s contents and documents.

The ships’ owners only lease out their ships.
Perla claims that currently it represents 25 percent of national sailing routes and traditional routes throughout Indonesia.

Mustafa Moses