Thousands of false eyelash factory workers run amok

PURBALINGGA, Central Java (JP) Approximately 1,300 workers of PT Royal Kori Indah, a false artificial eyelash factory here, ran amok on Friday in protest against a company policy.

The strike began peacefully at about 8 a.m. on Friday morning with a sit-in at the factory, which is said to be owned by a South Korean.

The workers were protesting the dismissal of local All- Indonesia Workers Union chairman Arif Gunawan.

"We urge the management to allow Arif to return to work," Sutrisno, one of the employees, told The Jakarta Post, adding that the company had often taken arbitrary measures against its employees.

However the management did not respond positively to the employees' demand.

The cool response caused an uproar among the workers, who expressed their ire by vandalizing the factory's office. Several windows were broken along with computers and printers.

Seven women administrative staff members who were inside the office fled the scene.

The situation calmed down after a truck load of policemen arrived at the location.

Several officials of the Purbalingga manpower office tried to mediate in a meeting between the management and employees.

In the meeting, the employees demanded that Arif be allowed to return to work and that their transportation allowance be increased from Rp 1,000 to Rp 2,000 per day.

The director of PT Royal Kori Indah, Kun Abidin, denied that the company had fired Arif Gunawan.

"He resigned of his own accord," he claimed.

PT Royal Kori Indah manufactures 15,000 pairs of false eyelashes a day, with almost all its products exported to the United States.(45/sdt)