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