Abdul Haerah HR/BI, Makassar – Up to a hundred low paid workers and waterside labourers who demanded a 100% pay rise have been forcefully removed from Makassar harbour side in Makassar on Saturday . Security officers from the Makassar Police force have removed the protestors who have been conducting their protest in the area since Friday.

The protest is being supported by the People's Democratic Party (PRD), an Indonesian socialist party who has been active in the struggle for the betterment of low paid workers. PRD members who were involved in the protest were also removed from the area and will be taken to Police Headquarters in Makassar.

The protest was directed at the flour milling factory, PT Berdikari Sari Utama, where the low paid workers and labourers involved in the protest are employed. The factory has not yet answered their demands.

Representatives of the protestors and factory spokespeople had a meeting in which no agreement was reached. due to the request of the protest party's representatives to include all of the protestors in the dialogue. The factory only allowed 20 representatives from the protestors' party to participate in the meeting.

The Makassar Regional Police Chief, Senior Superintendent Arianto Budiharjo, offered to provide a neutral meeting place for the dialogue between the two parties. His offer was ignored by protestors. Several protestors were beaten before being thrown into two police trucks because of their refusal to move. They were then taken to Makassar Police Headquarters.