Bus drivers to strike

JAKARTA: Employees of state bus company Perum Damri have threatened to hold a national strike if its management did not comply with labor regulations.

Federation of Public Transportation-Indonesian Prosperity Trade Union (FTA-SBSI) secretary-general Andy William Sinaga, said on Tuesday Perum Damri management had failed to conform with government regulation No. 26/2001 on salaries.

"There is a gap. State city bus company PPD's base pay for level II employees is Rp 825,000 (US$88.91) while Damri's is only Rp 325,000," he said.

Sinaga said many Damri employees had to retire five years earlier than the government's minimum age of 55 years. The company had also intimidated its employees against establishing or joining the trade union, he said.

FTA-SBSI representatives from Bali, East Java, West Java, and Jakarta held a demonstration at Perum Damri's central office in East Jakarta on Tuesday. They plan to take their demands to several government ministries on Wednesday. -- Antara