Ex-Texmaco workers protest at palace

Ex-Texmaco workers protest at palace

JAKARTA: About 500 former Texmaco Group employees held a demonstration in front of the State Palace on Jl. Merdeka Utara, Central Jakarta on Wednesday demanding that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono help speed up payment of their salaries by Texmaco.

"This problem is not only between the company and its employees but also the government. We ask SBY to quickly fulfill our rights," said a protester referring to Susilo.

He added that SBY had instructed his Cabinet to handle the matter but no resolution had been reached to date.

According to Eko, the employees had met Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Fahmi Idris in March 2005 and a staff member from the legal department of the Ministry of Finance.

"We will have 2,000 employees to demonstrate alongside us, next time, if we do not get any attention from the government, " he added.

The company owes about Rp 147 billion to 11,000 employees since 2002. --Antara