Union activist faces jail term

Union activist faces jail term

MEDAN, North Sumatra: A government prosecutor is demanding the
district court to sentence the secretary of the local branch of
the All Indonesian Prosperity Labor Union (SBSI) to a year
imprisonment for allegedly instigating a violent labor
demonstration in April.

Prosecutor Khadiroen said on Tuesday that 22 year-old Yanti
organized a series of meetings between workers and SBSI leaders
to plan the demonstrations to press their demands for pay hikes,
the Antara news agency reported.

The protests turned into a full scale riot, with one
businessman mobbed to death and dozens of factories ransacked.

The hearing was adjourned to Sept. 27. (pan)