Jakarta – Some 800 of employees from five banks facing a merger rallied outside the House of Representatives on Monday, urging legislators to safeguard their jobs.

Protesters from Bank Patriot, Bank Bali, Bank Artamedia, Bank Universal and Bank Prima Ekspress – which are due to be merged by the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) – said legislators should represent their views to the agency. As quoted by AFP, they said around 2,350 employees from the five banks want to know that their jobs will be safe.

The five banks, along with numerous others, were taken over by IBRA during or after the 1997-1998 regional financial crisis.