Supreme Court Orders BRI to Pay Wages to Former PT PGNI Workers
**Jakarta** – The Supreme Court (MA) has ordered Bank BRI to pay the wages of former workers of PT Pan Gas Nusantara Industri (PT PGNI) for a period equivalent to 19 years of salary. Previously, PT PGNI’s assets, which had been pledged as collateral to Bank BRI, were auctioned without notification to the workers. As a result, when PT PGNI went bankrupt, the assets that should have been used to pay approximately Rp 8 billion in workers’ wages were no longer available.
The statement was contained in Memo Letter No. 7/Tuada Perd/V/2006 issued by the then Deputy Chief Justice for Civil Affairs of the Supreme Court, Harifin Tumpa.
“The Head of the East Jakarta District Court (PN Jaktim) must summon Bank BRI as the party that received payment from the sale of PT PGNI’s assets and prioritize the payment of wages and other rights of the workers,” said the then Deputy Chief Justice for Civil Affairs of the Supreme Court, Harifin Tumpa, in documents obtained by detikcom on Saturday (January 28, 2012).
According to the Supreme Court, based on Article 95 paragraph (4) of Law No. 13 of 2003 on Manpower, wages and other rights of workers constitute debts that must be prioritized for payment. The second reason is that the company’s only assets were two factories that had been seized by KP2LN, and the proceeds from the auction had already been taken by Bank BRI.
“The Head of the East Jakarta District Court is obliged to find a solution to this problem,” explained Harifin, who is now serving as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
Responding to the memo, the attorney for the former workers, Juventhy M. Siahaan, urged Bank BRI to comply with the Supreme Court’s order. Moreover, as a state-owned enterprise (BUMN), it should set an example in upholding the law.
“BRI can no longer do anything. The wages must be executed. This case has already reached the cassation level. As a state-owned enterprise, BRI should comply with the law. During the auction they claimed it was lawful, but now that it’s at the cassation stage, why not comply with the law?” said Juventhy.
Meanwhile, Bank BRI stated that the sale of PT PGNI’s assets had been carried out in accordance with regulations. At the time, PT PGNI had debts to Bank BRI secured by the company’s fixed assets. When PT PGNI was unable to repay the debt, the collateral was auctioned.
“All processes were conducted through legal channels and have been handed over to law enforcement authorities,” said Bank BRI Corporate Secretary, M. Ali.