Scuffles break out at job expo

Scuffles broke out, women fainted and a door was smashed on the first day of a job expo in Bekasi on Monday, when up to 7,000 people vied for 2,000 vacancies.

Long queues outside the Bekasi Youth Sports Stadium meant scuffles broke out among the estimated 7,000 job seekers lining up to gain entry to the seminar, ignoring calls from security guards to keep order.

The situation deteriorated and the crowd destroyed the glass door of the stadium.

The heat and pushing meant two women fainted in the crowd and were assisted by a standby medical team, provided by the organizers.

At least 45 Greater Jakarta companies presented 2,000 job vacancies during a job expo on Monday and Tuesday. The event runs from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The organizer, Indra Gunawan, said the companies participating in the expo included car manufacturer Astra Isuzu, Heritage Hotel Salak in Bogor, Bekasi Metal Inti Megah, Feron Pharmaceuticals, Cengkareng Golf Club and Kemala Global International.

"Job seekers are required to buy a registration forms for Rp 15,000 (US$1.63) at each of the company booths they are interested in," Indra said.

he added that by 2 p.m., about 4,000 job applications had been submitted for 2,000 available vacancies. -- Antara