Medan – Hundreds of traders at the Petisah Market in Medan, North Sumatra, went on strike in protest over alleged rampant illegal fees and discrimination by the market's management.

The traders closed their shops and converged on Medan's City Hall to express their demand "to put an end to illegal fees at the market".

They said the collection of illegal fees had become rife and the number of illegal sellers had increased after the Medan municipality handed over the market management to PT Gunung Karya Kencana Sentosa (GKKS). Spokesman for the traders, Tommy Wijaya, said the number of illegal traders operating on the sidewalk at the market appeared uncontrollable.

Tommy added that the unauthorized fees demanded from each of the illegal vendors reached up to hundreds of thousands of rupiah per month, while the official fee collected from legal traders reached up to Rp 1 million per month.