Footwear workers strike in Semarang

SEMARANG: About 1,000 workers of footwear company PT Famous Shoes staged a demonstration on Tuesday outside the provincial council to demand a salary increase and better welfare provisions.

The employees, most of them women, urged the council to support their demands and speak to the company's management.

"Our welfare has been disregarded," workers' spokeswoman Sugianti told reporters.

Their demands include daily transportation and meal allowances of Rp 2,500 (about 35 U.S. cents) respectively and payment of three months' wages during maternity leave.

Sugianti also complained that workers who had dedicated their lives to the company were not given commensurate financial remuneration.

She claimed the wage of a worker employed for nearly 30 years was only slightly higher than someone who worked for less than six months.

"Employees who have worked up to 28 years are paid Rp 5,600 per day, while those who have been there only three months are already getting Rp 5,100. This indicates injustice in the company's policies." (har/01)