Pusri workers go on strike in Cirebon
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Some 150 casual workers of state-owned fertilizer company PT Pupuk Sriwijaya (PT Pusri) went on strike on Thursday, demanding a 100 percent wage increase.
The demonstrators carried out their sit-in action near the company's warehouse at Cirebon's port demanding the management double the loading fee to Rp 1,500 (15 U.S. cents) per ton during the day and Rp 2,500 per ton at night.
The peaceful demonstration caused loading at the warehouse to come to a halt for seven hours.
With the current remuneration system, workers bring home between Rp 3,000 and Rp 4,000 a day after a cut is taken for eating and transport. Every day, each worker carries a load of between three and four tons of fertilizer from the company's cargo vessels.
"Our daily income is actually far below the regency's minimum wage, that is why we held the demonstration. This is an old slavery practice that must be phased out of the modern age," Antara news agency quoted Cardi, a 30-year-old loading worker at Pusri's warehouse.
The minimum wage in the regency has been raised to Rp 480,000 per month from the previous level of Rp 350,000.
He said all loading workers in the company were not registered in a health and pension insurance scheme and did not receive any allowances, as they were only given to permanent staff.
The demonstrators should registered in the social security programs (Jamsostek) which are compulsory for companies employing ten workers or more.
After long negotiations between the management and five workers representing the demonstrators, Kris Usman, who represented the management, finally agreed to raise the loading fee to Rp 1,500 per ton during the day and Rp 2,000 per ton at night.
Following the agreement, the demonstrators dispersed peacefully and returned to work.
Hendar, chief of Pusri's logistic unit in the town, said the company met the workers' demands so as to avoid any disruption to the regency's fertilizer supplies.
PT Pusri supplies fertilizer through the seaport to West Java's northern region, in particular Cirebon, Indramayu, Majalengka, Kuningan and Subang.