Yemris Fointuna, Kupang – Some 200 employees of cement company PT Semen Kupang are angry they have still not been paid their pensions and allowances after being made redundant by the company since 2008.

Many of the workers complained they were no longer able to send their children to school and that some of their children had dropped out of college as a result.

East Nusa Tenggara Governor Frans Leburaya, said his administration had discussed the matter with the company's management, which had promised to make the payment if ordered to by the Supreme Court.

"The administration has been mediating to find a quick solution to the matter. We agreed in December 2009 about the payment of the pension and other allowances," Frans Leburaya told reporters at his official residence on Tuesday evening.

He said that PT Sarana Agro Gemilang, the company that won the tender for an operational cooperation (KSO), had allocated Rp 25 billion, including to settle the dispute between the cement company and its workers.

The dispute has led to wave of protests, which have intensified over the past week. On Tuesday, the employees sealed the main entrance of the factory by welding irons on it. A brawl involving the protesters and anti-riot police broke out, injuring one protester.

PT Semen Kupang president director Abdul Madjid Nampira, said separately in a statement the company was ready to pay the employees' pension and allowances. "We have allocated Rp 7.8 billion for the payment," he said.

He said that once a copy of the Supreme Court's verdict regarding the case was received, the company would make the payment. "So far no copy of the verdict has been received by the Kupang District Court."

The only cement producer in the province went bankrupt in 2008 following a financial crisis. The provincial administration and legislative council could not do much in the case since the administration has only a small percentage of shares in the company.