National flag carrier Garuda Indonesia Pilots’ Association (APG) and workers union (Sekarga) have renewed their threat to strike, saying they would do so in the second week of July — the deadline for the company and the government to meet their demand.
Previously, the airline pilots planned to go on strike during the Idul Fitri mudik (exodus), but they postponed the plan to avoid further complicating the peak traveling season.
Currently, the government has been mediating the airline’s management and the APG in resolving the issues that have caused the dispute over the last two years.
“We really appreciate the government’s move under Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister [Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan] to help solve the mismanagement problem within Garuda Indonesia,” Sekarga chairman Ahmad Irfan said in an official joint statement with APG.
He acknowledged that the result of the ongoing discussion will be yielded by the first week of July.
“Considering [the timing of the decision], we declare that we will go on strike as late as the second week of July 2018 if there is still no best solution from the government,” he said.
However, the association also stated that it supported the operation during the busy mudik period in Idul Fitri.
The association has previously brought up issues such as alleged mismanagement within the airline board that has resulted in declining operational and financial performance.
The government has established a working group consisting of representatives from the State-Owned Enterprises Ministry and the Office of the Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister, among others, to solve the problems. (bbn)
