Ex Exxon-Mobil workers want higher payment

As many as 249 former employees of Mobil Oil who joined an early retirement period in 1996 have demanded an additional severance payment from the foreign oil giant, the afternoon daily Suara Pembaruan reported on Tuesday,

The former Mobil Oil workers said the severance payments they received from the oil giant, one of the state oil company Pertamina's production sharing contractors, were much lower than they should have received.

PricewaterhouseCoopers, an independent consultant appointed to calculate the amount of the severance payment to the workers, recommended the company to pay a severance payment of US$721 million to them. But they said that the money they received was much lower than the amount set by the consulting company.

Sidik Nitikusumah, the spokesman for the supervision of foreign oil companies' operation, denied the charge, saying there were no manipulation or miscalculation involved in the severance payment.

He challenged the ex-workers to take the case to the court if they were still not satisfied with the severance payment decision. (*)