Furniture workers go strike

UJUNGPANDANG: More than 50 workers of a furniture company on Jl. Ir. Sutami here protested yesterday, demanding an increase in daily wages.

The workers of Singvlar Furniture, which is Taiwanese-owned, waved banners saying, "We won't be back to work until our demands are fulfilled".

The workers said they wanted the company to pay them according to the regulation. "We are paid Rp 3,400 a day, or Rp 102,000 a month. But now, after the new regulation effective since April this year, we get only Rp 102,000 a month plus Rp 3,750," a worker said.

The workers should have received at least Rp 112,500 per month, according to the new regulation.

The company's security guards also joined the protest. They said they did not want to work until their salaries were increased.

A security guard said he had been working for two years and received Rp 150,000 monthly.

The protesters said they would stage similar protests at the Ministry of Manpower office if the management ignored their request.

It was the third workers' protest in Ujungpandang after employees of PT Rante Mario, of Humpuss Group, and PT Supreme Kakao protested for better wages. (37/sur)