Workers protest less in Tangerang

Workers protest less in Tangerang

TANGERANG (JP): The number of protests here, home to 18,359
large and small factories which employ about 300,000 casual
workers, have dropped to 22 cases this year from 64 recorded in
1996.

Most of the protests were staged by garment, footwear and
electronics workers, the chairman of All-Indonesia Workers
Union's Tangerang branch, Yusuf Makatika, said Saturday.

Despite the significant drop, the street protests staged by
workers had the potential to be more disruptive.

"Most of the protests involved huge numbers of workers and the
events were much more aggressive than in previous years," he
said.

They, for instance, marched from the their factory compounds
to the City Council in an attempt to meet with councilors and
lobby them to settle the workers' demands.

On April 22, for instance, 10,200 workers of a factory
producing a world-renowned brand of footwear were involved in a
strike. Then on May 5, 8,300 workers from six factories took part
in a massive strike. On Oct. 13, about 6,000 workers from another
footwear producing firm conducted a street protest.

In many cases, the massive protests caused heavy traffic
congestion in the area.

Yusuf expressed concern that the growing size of street
protests could one day spark other serious problems if the local
authorities failed to manage them properly.

None of the protests were used by third parties to further
their own causes, he said.

Tangerang military district chief Lt. Col. Ibrahim Rozaini
supported Yusuf's findings.

"All the protests were staged by the workers themselves,
demanding that their basic rights be met and asking for
improvements," he said. (bsr/41)