Locals demand job from company

TANGERANG: About 1,500 residents from three subdistricts in the Pinang district of Tangerang municipality staged a violent rally on Monday at the PT Tifico factory on Jl. Raya Serpong to demand the company make good on its unfulfilled promises, including providing jobs for local residents.

H. Suryadi, 55, a resident who lives right behind the factory in East Panunggangan subdistrict, accused PT Tifico, a large textile producer established in 1976, of deliberately rejecting locals for employment at the factory.

He also said that the company had polluted the environment.

Herman, another resident, said that PT Tifico, which employs more than 3,000 workers, also failed to fulfill its promise to share project tenders with local businessmen.

The residents began to gather at the factory compound at 9 a.m. Since no one from the company management met them until 11:30, the protesting residents tore down the factory's gate and forced their way into the compound.

They almost broke into a fight with about 100 police officers who were deployed at the factory.-- JP