A foreign co-pilot is paid with US$7,200 or about Rp61 million per month while a local captain pilot only gets a total income of Rp40 million per month....Jakarta (ANTARA News) - State-owned Enterprises (SOE) Minister Mustafa Abubakar urged the management of PT Garuda Indonesia to settle the problem of its pilots who were threatening to go on strike to demand better pay.
"If this (strike) happens it will disturb the operations of the company and for this we ask the management to overcome it," the minister said at his office here on Friday.
Minister Mustafa said that the management of Garuda must be able to overcome any problem it was facing such as its pilots` demand for wage increases that could lead to pilot strikes.
Pilots grouped in the Garuda Pilots Association (APG) are demanding an increase in their salaries to an amount equal to those of the wages paid to foreign pilots in Garuda.
The pilots demanded an increase because the amounts of their salaries were not equal to foreign pilots who were contract workers.
The salaries of foreign pilots were considered far higher than those of local pilots. A foreign co-pilot is paid with US$7,200 or about Rp61 million per month while a local captain pilot only gets a total income of Rp40 million per month.
On July 21, 2011, the APG had asked the management of Garuda to heed their demand for a wage increase, giving it until July 28, if their demand was not fulfilled the pilots would stage a strike from flying.
The pilots have decided to stage strikes because they no longer trusted the management of the state-owned airline company and will call for immediate change in the management.
Minister Mustafa said his ministry as the holder of Garuda's share hoped that the Garuda management would soon overcome the problem. (ANT)
Editor: Ade P Marboen
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
