Muchus BR/Hendra & GB, Sukoharjo – After two days of fruitless negotiations over an increase to Christmas and Ramadhan Bonuses (THR), hundreds of workers of plastic bag and sack producer PT Sami Surya Indah Plastik, Sukoharjo, Central Java, ultimately occupied the Legislative Council (DPRD). They threatened to remain on strike until their demands are fulfilled.
The workers walked around 5 kilometers on foot from the factory located in Pandeyan village, Grogol, Sukoharjo, to reach the parliament building. They carried large posters and banners along the way listing their demands and arguing for a better deal for workers.
The decision to stop work and march to the parliament was taken suddenly after representatives of the workers failed to reach any agreement with the factory management even after intense negotiations since last Wednesday.
Achmad Sugeng, the owner of the company, said that his side could just afford to give an additional Rp 30,000 (US$ 3.40) on the holiday bonuses given last year. The workers had demanded twice their monthly salary but had reduced their demand to a 50% bonus.
As they arrived at the Sukaharjo Legislative Council, the marching workers were received by numerous members of parliament led by the Deputy Head of the Council, Drs. Abdul Rosyid Muchtar. While eight representatives of the workers met with the members, the others sat in and around the building seeking shelter from the pouring rain.
The Sukaharjo parliament members promised to call the factory's owners next Saturday. The workers were asked to go back to work as usual while waiting for the results of the meeting.
However, the workers immediately rejected the request saying they were determined to continue the strike until their demand for an additional 50% bonus was fulfilled. The company later announced that workers who did not come to work between Friday and Tuesday would be considered to have resigned and finally hundreds of workers agreed to return to work. However, they decided to go to work but not work until their demands were met.
Over the last two days, around 750 workers of PT SSIP have been on strike and the management, when contacted by Detik were unwilling to state their total losses due to the strike.