Bandung – Thousands of workers have gone on strike in the industrial belts of Purwakarta and Tangerang, demanding that their employers immediately start paying them the new minimum wage of Rp 172,500 (about =A350) a month.

In Purwakarta, a thousand workers of a South Korean-owned company went on strike complaining that the company wants to ignore the new minimum wage, as they did in April last year when the rate was raised to Rp 156.000

The 2,349 workers have presented their demands on a number of occasions recently but without success, which is why a thousand of them decided to strike on Monday this week.

In Tangerang, thousands of workers have demonstrated, demanding payment of the new minimum wage as well as payment of allowances to which they are entitled but which are not being paid. They included 1,500 workers from the textile factory, PT Ciputat, 900 workers at the Desa Telaga shoe factory and a hundred workers at a timber works, PT PK.

At least 1,500 workers at a garment factory. PT JG have also joined the action.