Team to probe worker's death

JAKARTA (JP): The government will set up a team to investigate the death of female worker Juju Julijah who died in a hunger strike last month, a manpower ministry official said on Friday.

"The team will try to find out whether Juju died of work- related causes or unrelated ones," said Agus Suharmanu of the Working Environment Condition Directorate at the Ministry of Manpower.

"Should the result of the investigation lead to indications of a criminal offense, the ministry will hand over the case to the police."

The establishment of the team was decided in a meeting between workers' representatives of wood factory PT Rimba Asritama and ministry officials on Thursday evening.

Agus, however, declined to give a clue as to what the investigation would entail, saying the investigation was only about to start.

Some 20 workers of PT Rimba Asritama staged a protest in front of the manpower ministry on Jl. Gatot Subroto, Jakarta, on Thursday demanding an investigation into the death of their colleague Juju Julijah.

"The company could have helped Juju, but they refused to take her to the hospital," Purjaya Halim, a labor activist speaking on behalf of the workers, said.

The workers also demanded that the company pay them reasonable compensation after massive layoffs last month.

Also joining the protesters at the Ministry of Manpower were workers from PT Pasari Glass. "We're inspired by Juju's death. We'll continue fighting for workers' rights," they said.

The 28-year-old Juju died after a 12-day hunger strike, starting on Aug 7. She was challenging the company's decision to lay off 125 workers and its failure to listen to their demand for compensation.

She was found in pain on Aug. 18. Her colleagues took her to the company's director Sudjono Rimba Bakar to persuade him to help cover the hospital expenses for Juju's medical treatment.

Sudjono reportedly showed little interest in helping Juju, until she died the following day. Sudjono and the company officials could not be reached for comment on Friday.

PT Rimba Asritama produces wooden panels for furniture. The products are exported to the U.S. (03)