Workers stage rally at council

TANGERANG: Almost 1,000 workers of PT Yasunlitek, a thread manufacturer in Tangerang, staged a rally at the municipality's legislative council on Thursday to protest the company's failure to pay their salaries on time.

The workers, who have been on strike since Wednesday, complained that the manufacturer, located on Jl. Daan Mogot in the Batu Ceper district of Tangerang, was going to pay their salaries from February on March 15.

They demanded that the council force the company's management to pay their salaries immediately.

Two staff members of the management, Joko Sutanto and M. Syahroni, who met with councillor Fachrudin and several representatives of the workers, said that the company was having financial problems.

The workers also complained that the management had not paid their insurance premiums for the last three years. They also said that they did not receive any medical or condolence compensation, which is usually paid out when a relative dies.

"We are loyal to this company and most of us have worked there for more than 10 years. But if our salary is delayed, how are we going to feed our families?" Adi. S, who has worked for the company for 20 years, told The Jakarta Post.

He said that this was the third time in the past six months that the company had delayed paying workers' salaries.--JP