Christine T. Tjandraningsih, Jakarta – The Indonesian parliament Tuesday urged the management of PT Sony Electronics Indonesia, a subsidiary of the Japanese electronics giant, and workers involved in a protracted strike to seek a compromise despite the company's threat to fire them.

The call was made during a two-hour hearing between Sony's management, workers' representatives and officials of the Ministry of Manpower mediated by a House commission dealing with manpower affairs. About 100 workers' representatives attended the hearing, but Sony was only represented by two Indonesian assistant managers.

"The House of Representatives is not a decision-maker, but we try to offer solutions on what you should do," legislator Jacob Nuwawea told the hearing. "We give two weeks for all sides to make approaches to each other to seek a compromise." The commission also asked Sony not to be represented at the hearing only by Indonesian assistant managers but to send Japanese directors.

Last Friday, Sony announced its decision to fire 928 employees who have been on strike since April 26 in protest at the company's new policy of "standing operation" production procedures, which forbid employees from sitting while working. The company recently changed its production line operations with the installation of new conveyer belts, which resulted in the standing requirement.

Sony said the decision to dismiss the workers was lawful as it had secured approval from the Central Committee for Labor Dispute Settlement at the Ministry of Manpower. It also said the committee confirmed that the "standing operation" procedure is a better and healthier work method.

Sony's assistant to the production manager, Hani Toreh, told the hearing that the company is not optimistic about re-negotiations as such talks have taken place several times without results. "If negotiations take place again, the possibility of a solution will be very small, because the working relationship between the employer and employees has been very bad," Toreh said. Workers booed him after he made the statement.

But officials of the Ministry of Manpower supported Toreh's statement, saying, "It is impossible to reach a compromise anymore, as in some negotiations no solutions were produced."

Earlier, Sony Finance Manager Satoshi Kanenori said the prolonged strike had caused the company major losses as it had to close 10 of its 12 production lines and transfer some of its production to its Malaysian plant.

To parliament members, Judy Winarno, chairman of the Indonesian Metal Workers Union's branch at the company, said the labor dispute committee's ruling was unfair, as earlier the strike had been conducted in accordance with procedures stipulated in the labor laws.

"This is a bad precedent for national stability," said Judy, 30, who was moved from his previous position as assistant manager to the cleaning staff for leading the strike. "Our demand is to return to work and for working conditions to improve, because we are not guilty and we want to uphold the truth," he said, adding the dismissal decision was made after an informal meeting on June 7 between Sony and the Ministry of Manpower.

Toreh himself claimed the June 7 meeting was a discussion between the Indonesian Chamber of Industry and Commerce, its Japanese counterpart, Sony and the ministry's officials to talk about labor issues in general, including the strike at Sony, but that no decision resulted from the meeting.

The workers have also reported to legislators how they were attacked by a group of hoodlums early this month. Toreh said they were not hoodlums, but residents of the industrial complex of Ganda Mekar in Bekasi, a suburb of eastern Jakarta, where Sony is located, who were concerned that the strike could affect foreign investment.

PT Sony Electronics Indonesia is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Japan's Sony Corp. It has a total workforce of 1,500, including those employees threatened with dismissal. The company, which manufactures video compact disc players and television sets, has an average daily production of 4,000 units.

Kanenori has said the decision to fire the workers will cost Sony around 5 billion rupiah (about $536,000) in severance pay, housing allowance compensation, back-dated medical allowances, loss of annual leave and long-service pay.

Labor protests have been increasing during the past few months, mostly affecting foreign companies whose investment is badly needed by the country to help its devastated economy recover.