Bayu Marhaenjati & Keyko Ranti Ramadhani – The Indonesian Association of Employers agreed on Wednesday to meet with protesting workers to try to settle a dispute over a recent increase in the minimum wage for Bekasi district, police said.

District police chief Sr. Comr. Wahyu Hadiningrat said that a meeting would convene in the evening, and he expressed hope that the two sides would reach an agreement.

Thousands of workers rallied at the MM2100 industrial zone in Cibitung, Bekasi, on Wednesday to demand the association known as Apindo withdraw a suit it had filed challenging a government decree increasing the minimum wage for the region.

"In the meeting, we will conduct a direct dialogue with Apindo and the government so that the lawsuit they filed will be revoked," said Baris Silitonga, a coordinator of the labor protest. If no decision is reached, he continued, the protest will resume on Monday along with the hearing for the suit.

Apindo has taken the Bekasi municipal authority to court for approving a revised minimum monthly wage standard for the region. In one category, the minimum was raised from Rp 1,422,252 to Rp 1,491,866 ($155 to $163).

Workers responded by holding a massive rally on Wednesday, closing a local access road and preventing hundreds of vehicles from entering the industrial zone.

Apindo chairman Sofjan Wanandi claimed the growing unrest was starting to worry investors. "Investors are now thinking twice before investing in West Java, especially in Bekasi," Sofjan said. "I told them that they better go to Central or East Java."

He said hundreds of companies operating in the industrial zone were having trouble meeting the new wage standard. "All companies in the industrial zone object to the rise in the minimum monthly wage, which is deemed too big," Sofjan said.

Amir Mahfus, the head of the Bekasi chapter of the Federation of Indonesian Metal Workers Union (FSPMI), said Apindo's decision to file the suit was a risky, aggressive business tactic.

"We believe this is the decision of only a few within Apindo because they want their existence to be recognized among businessmen, but there are also many businessmen who will abide by the decree," Amir said. "The harder they beat the drums of war, the readier they should be to face losses," he added, saying the workers would "paralyze Bekasi."

Wahyu said 1,809 police personnel had been deployed to safeguard the protest.