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