1. FERRY: 12 x 4 lines
1. FERRY: 12 x 4 lines
Ferry owners
demand fare hike,
threaten
to strike
or
Ferry owners
threaten strike,
unless ferry
fares increased
Sea transportation between Bakauheni in Lampung province and
Merak in Banten province could be paralyzed soon as the local
union of ferry operators has threatened to stop services until
the authorities meet their demands to increase ferry fares.
The operators asked the government on Tuesday to increase the
fares by up to 79 percent, otherwise they would stage a massive
strike.
A strike would severely disrupt goods and passenger traffic
between cities in Java and Sumatra, given that 24 ships operate
daily in the Sunda Strait.
"If my boss tells me to strike, that's what I'll do," a ferry
crewman, who wished to remain anonymous, said.
2. TONASA: 22 x 2 lines
S. Sulawesi renews fight
for Tonasa's spin-off
South Sulawesi Governor HZB Palaguna said the provincial
administration and the management of state-owned cement factory
PT Semen Tonasa were committed to fight for the company's spin-
off from PT Semen Gresik in East Java.
"The proposed spin-off is really the aspiration of local
people in the province and we are committed to fight for it,"
Palaguna said after receiving the company's newly appointed
management at his office here on Tuesday.
The new management briefed the governor on the results of the
meeting of the company's stakeholders that the management would
continue to fight for the company's separation from Semen Gresik.
3. UNGSI: 35 x 1 line
Closure of refugee camps in Kupang delayed
or
Refugees to receive aid until December
The central government has relented a little in its approach
toward East Timorese refugees by postponing the planned closure
of refugee camps in East Nusa Tenggara province until December
this year.
But the government has made it clear that there will not be
any repatriation of refugees to the newly established Democratic
Republic of East Timor after August.
Bowing to demands by the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR), the Indonesian government has agreed that
refugees in Kupang will continue to receive aid until the new
deadline passes.