More teachers threaten to strike, demand salary hike

More teachers threaten to strike, demand salary hike

JAKARTA (JP): Some 1,000 teachers of kindergarten to high
school across Jambi staged a noisy rally in front of the
provincial legislative building on Saturday. They demanded a 300
percent raise in their salaries and 500 percent in extra
allowances.

The teachers, grouped in the Indonesian Teachers Union (PGRI)
and the Forum of Jambi's Teachers (FGKJ), forced their way into
the main plenary hall, where their representatives were holding a
dialogue with local councilors, Antara reported.

Speaker of the legislature Nasrun HR Arbain received the
representatives led by PGRI executive Sudirman.

During the dialogue, the protesters also demanded that the
government drop the monthly rice distribution and replace it with
a rice stipend.

"We asked for a rice stipend with a new price basis of Rp
2,640 (some 33 US cents) per kilogram instead of the old rice
price of Rp 2,380," Sudirman said.

The teachers also urged the government to provide them with
housing credits and demanded the removal of the head of PGRI's
provincial branch, Yusuf Madjid, whom they accused of failing to
realize their needs.

Nasrun pledged to relay the demands to Jakarta and the local
administration.

Secretary of FGKJ Suardiwan said that the central government
should reconsider its decision to earmark a mere 5.8 percent of
the state budget for teachers salaries and allowances.

"Other countries allot much more from their budgets for their
teachers. Malaysia, for instance, used 17 percent of its budget,
and Sweden 135 percent," he said.

Separately, thousands of teachers in Banyumas regency in
Central Java threatened to strike on National Education Day which
falls on May 2, along with their 9,000 colleagues in neighboring
regency of Banjarnegara.

Banyumas regent Aris Setiono urged the teachers to reconsider
their plans, saying that students will be undergoing their final
examination in the middle of May.

"I want the teachers to think about their students'
preparations for the final exams," he told journalists on
Saturday while visiting Purwokerto.

However, a teacher of Banyumas confirmed with The Jakarta Post
on Sunday that "partial strikes" have been stealthily underway.

"Most teachers in Banyumas have been holding strikes by
arriving in classes without following the schedule," Munirwan, a
member of the Banyumas Teachers Communication Forum, said.
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