Tire maker workers stage rally

Tire maker workers stage rally

BOGOR: Hundreds of workers of bicycle tire maker PT Banteng
Pratama, staged a rally on Monday at publicly listed tire maker
PT Goodyear Indonesia's office to call for a continuation of the
contract between the two companies.

The workers asked Goodyear's management not to break the
contract with Banteng as it could result in the loss of jobs for
over 1,500 workers.

Banteng production head Warjono said that his company would
lose its license to produce Goodyear bicycle tires as the
management of Goodyear will scrap its license, effective Oct. 1.

Banteng produces 22,000 Goodyear-branded bicycle tires per
day. Most of them are exported to Europe, Latin America, and
Middle East and African countries.

Disputing Banteng's claim that the contract expires in October
this year, PT Goodyear said in a statement that its contract with
PT Banteng ended in the 1990s. PT Banteng is not an official
producer of Goodyear tires and has so far used the trademark
illegally, according to the statement. --JP