Footwear workers strike in Semarang

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)