Textile workers on strike

Textile workers on strike

BOGOR: Representatives of about 6,000 workers of textile
producer PT Great River Indonesia staged a rally at the Bogor
Council on Wednesday, demanding that councillors force the
company to reemploy their colleagues.

"We will continue the strike until we reach an agreement with
the company," a worker, Martanto, said.

The workers were protesting PT Great River's decision to lay
off some 700 workers on May 9 and, according to them, had cut
their monthly salary in half.

"The company always claims losses, but production is still
going on, we still receive a lot of orders ... Every time we ask
the executives to show us the financial reports, they always
refuse," Martanto added.

The company produces shirts and lingerie for export to the
U.S., Italy, Australia and Japan.

The company's human resources officer, Harun Hutapea, deplored
the strike, saying that the company needed the workers' moral
support to get fresh capital. -- JP