Bus drivers continue strike in Medan

Bus drivers continue strike in Medan

MEDAN, North Sumatra: The drivers of around 80 passenger buses
serving the Amplas-Pinang Baris route in North Sumatra continued
their strike on Monday in protest against the assignment of
additional buses to the route with the approval of Medan's mayor.

They also demanded that daily levies, which they claimed to be
illegal, be scrapped.

They first went on strike last Thursday, leaving many
passengers stranded over the last four days on roads served by
the buses.

To push for their demands, the protesters marched on the Medan
municipal offices on Monday.

A. Lumbantobing, one of the striking drivers, claimed that for
the last 20 months they had been forced to pay between Rp 13,000
and Rp 15,000 every day to foremen appointed by the Medan Bus
operator.

The "illegal" levy was on top of the Rp 5,000 fee collected
every day by the management, he added.

The drivers also complained about the Medan mayor's approval
for an increase in the number of buses serving the same route to
116.

The move had reduced the drivers' incomes, Lumbantobing
complained. --JP