Railway workers plan strike<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
More than 1,000 workers and retirees of state-owned railway
\ncompany PT Kereta Api Indonesia (PT KAI) staged a demonstration
\nhere on Tuesday, demanding the government improve their working
\nconditions.<\/p>\n
The demonstrators, who came from Sumatra and Java, marched
\nfrom the Gambir Railway Station to the Ministry of
\nTransportation, past the office of the State Minister of State
\nEnterprises and the Supreme Court, encircling the National
\nMonument (Monas) and causing big traffic jams along the way
\nduring morning peak hours.<\/p>\n
They said that as a last resort they would call for a national
\nstrike if the government failed to respond positively to their
\ndemands.<\/p>\n
"The national strike will be the last resort if the government
\nand management do not meet our demands," Amien Abdurrahman,
\nchairman of the Railway Workers Union (SPKA), said during the
\ndemonstration.<\/p>\n
Amien said the demonstration was organized to express
\nemployees' disappointment with the government and the management,
\nwhich they said had failed to fulfill their pledge to improve the
\nworkers social welfare following the change of the company's
\nstatus from non profit-oriented (Perjan) to profit-oriented
\n(Perum) in 1992 and later into a limited liability company.<\/p>\n
Wahyu, a retiring employee, said most workers who have retired
\nsince 1992 have not yet received any pension benefits.<\/p>\n
"Labor conditions remained poor when the government changed
\nthe company's status into a limited liability (PT) in the 1990s.
\nWhat's worse, workers are not registered with social security
\nprograms (Jamsostek). This has worsened the company's
\nperformance. It is not only the company's service to the public
\nwhich is bad, but also a series of accidents have happened over
\nthe last few years," Amien said.<\/p>\n
The demonstrators dispersed peacefully after 15
\nrepresentatives were received by several staff members of the
\nTransportation Ministry and of the minister of state enterprises.
\nBoth sides agreed to hold a series of meetings to seek a
\ncomprehensive solution to all problems plaguing the company.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/railway-workers-plan-strike-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}