Workers stage sit-in demo in support of colleagues

Antara, Bandung

More than 500 workers of a match producer, PT Java Match Factory, staged a sit-down protest at the Bandung district court, demanding that the management act firmly against six administrative staffers who forged the signatures of workers.

The workers's presence and the din they were making in the court building gave rise to unease among the judges and other staff, who later asked for around 60 riot police to be sent in order to prevent any violence.

Muchidin, spokesman for the demonstrators, asserted that they had come to the court to give moral support to 19 of their colleagues who had had their signatures forged.

"We came here to draw the court's attention to our case and to give our support to our colleagues who had their signatures forged," he said.

Muchidin, whose signature was also forged, said he and his 19 colleagues had filed a law suit against the six administrative staffers for forging their signatures so as to sign them up as members of the Indonesian Prosperous Labor Union (SBSI).

"The six staff members are executives of the SBSI branch in the company.

"We are suing them in court because we cannot tolerate their wrongdoing, and we have joined the Federation of All-Indonesia Workers' Unions (SPSI) instead," he said.

Muchidin said the workers would continue their action next week and every week until the court imposed a reasonable punishment on the defendants.

"The management must also impose reasonable sanctions on them so that they will never do such a thing in the future," he said.

Security personnel said they would tighten security at the court if the demonstrators came to protest again next week.