Multa Fidrus, Tangerang – About 13,000 workers staged a sit-in rally outside PT Panarub Industry shoe factory in Tangerang city to protest the management's decision to cut their Idul Fitri bonus without any explanation.

The protesters had stopped working as soon as they found they received less holiday bonus this year than the previous years. The company produces shoes for prominent German brand Adidas.

"This cut did not happen last year and in the previous years. We need explanation from the company management why the bonus was cut and what for," Lia Naipospos, one of the workers, said.

Sofiyah, another worker, said the cut ranged from Rp 100,000 (US$11) to Ro 200,000, depending on the workers' wage and term of service. "The amount of is very meaningful for workers like us," she said.

Workers who have been employed for one year receive at least Rp 1.1 million in monthly wage each.

No company executive was available for comments about the policy.

In another part of the city 1,400 workers of PT Woneel Midas Leathers went on a strike to protest the absence of Idul Fitri bonus, forcing the company to put production to a complete halt.

"This is the third day we are on strike. We demand holiday bonus as we did not receive it in the past few years," Agung Tridarto, chairman of the company's labor union, said.

The workers also demanded that the company, which produces golf and baseball gloves, to reemploy four workers who had been dismissed recently for instigating others to demand holiday bonus.

Worker who have been employed for one year are entitled to holiday bonus, the amount of which equals their respective monthly wage. Companies that cannot meet the obligation must report to the local manpower agency.