Jakarta – Police and soldiers fired rubber bullets on thousands of steel workers staging a violent protest in a West Java town Tuesday, injuring dozens of people.

The military said the shooting was in response to a rampage by about 2,100 workers at the P.T. Gunung Garuda steel plant in Bekasi, just east of Jakarta. The military said the workers, who were protesting low salaries, hurled rocks and bricks at officers.

The state-run TVRI television station reported that 104 people were arrested, including two people believed to have led the protest. It said at least 26 workers were injured. Some security officers also were reported injured.