592 firms face law suit

SEMARANG, Central Java: The provincial government has threatened to sue 592 companies for not insuring their workers.

"The firms will soon be brought to trial for violating the law requiring companies to enlist their employees in the workers insurance plan," Haris Albert, chairman of the Central Java branch of the state insurance company Astek, said.

Each owner of the companies may be fined up to Rp 50 million ($22,000) or a maximum jail term of six months, he said.

Haris said the companies had ignored repeated warnings from the government, which had held information campaigns on labor laws. (har)