Tarakanita staff stage protest

JAKARTA (JP): About 50 lecturers and staff of the Tarakanita Secretarial College (LPK Tarakanita), Pondok Kelapa, East Jakarta, staged a demonstration at the Legal Aid Foundation here on Tuesday, protesting their suspension by the Tarakanita Foundation.

The dispute has been going on for a year, ever since the protesters asked for better working conditions and a pay rise.

According to A.J Lumban Gaol, a lecturer at the college, a number of staff members were still being paid less than the provincial minimum wage of Rp 426,250 (US$ 37,51) per month.

The management of the college had refused to meet and discuss the matter with them and instead had suspended those who participated in the protest action, he said.

In response to their demands, the Tarakanita Foundation had issued a simple ultimatum: Keep working for the Tarakanita Foundation or resign. (06)