Circus company faces legal suit

JAKARTA (JP): Eleven ex-circus workers have threatened to file a legal suit against their former employer for failing to honor an agreement with them on promised compensation.

The 11 former workers of Oriental Circus Indonesia visited the National Commission on Human Rights, Wednesday, complaining about the circus management's refusal to settle the dispute with them amicably.

In a meeting with the commission last March, the management promised to compensate the workers who had worked for the circus for 20 years without any payment.

Vivi Neria Sumampau, one of the complainants, said the workers, through lawyer Amir Syamsudin, had sent a letter to the circus management to remind them of the settlement.

"If the management don't want to settle the case peacefully, we would take it to court," Vivi said.

She demanded compensation of about Rp 200 million (US$74,074) for each of the workers.

The dispute broke out when Vivi and her husband, Roby Cahyadi, ran away from the circus late last year and told commission member Muladi that the circus company had physically abused its underaged workers. (jun)