Thousand of workers at S'pore firm walk out

Thousand of workers at S'pore firm walk out

JAKARTA (JP): Approximately 2,000 employees of PT Singamip
Jaya Enterprise Electronic, a Singapore-based company which
produces electronics spare parts, went on strike yesterday
demanding better treatment.

The workers, most of them women, held a four-hour-long
demonstration in front the company offices in Cibinong, 47
kilometers east of Jakarta.

One of the striking workers, who requested anonymity, said
that many of the employees' rights, such as a transport
allowance, lunch money, annual and maternity leave and overtime
pay, have not been respected by the company.

Despite the fact that the company already has a branch of the
government-recognized All-Indonesia Workers Union, the workers
also demanded the right to set up an independent union.

"We are also tied to a contract which puts us in a weak
position," the worker said.

The company's director, Liem Chei Hok, was not available for
comment yesterday. However, Liem's staff said the workers'
demands were being discussed between representatives of the
company and the local office of the ministry of manpower.

More than 20 riot police and security officers kept watch over
the strikers' protest, but there were no incidents.

One of the strikers said that the workers wanted their demands
to be discussed out in the open.

"We have not chosen any representatives because we are afraid
that worker representatives will be fired by the company," she
said.

The strike ended peacefully at 11 a.m. without any concessions
having been made by the company.

"We will take our case to the House of Representatives
tomorrow," said one of the workers. (01)