Apriadi Gunawan, Medan – Hundreds of workers in Medan are camping out in front of the North Sumatra provincial council building to protest alleged abuses at the furniture company they work for.
The employees of PT Cipta Mebelindo Lestari began their protest March 16, accusing the company of intimidating workers and denying them their basic rights under the Labor Law.
Protest coordinator Rudianto, 27, said 800 workers were taking part in the demonstration, with about 100 a day camping out in front of the building in tents.
Rudianto said the protest was organized in an effort to secure the council's support in their dispute with Cipta Mebelindo Lestari.
"We have been repressed. The company failed to meet our basic rights for two years. We protested to the company several times but all we received was intimidation," he told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.
He claimed one employee, M. Salman, was physically assaulted by thugs hired by the company, adding the incident was reported to the police last month.
The workers want the company to pay them the regional minimum monthly wage and provide them with insurance, days off and an Idul Fitri bonus.
Rudianto, who has worked at the company for five years, said the employees simply wanted what they were entitled to.
"Our wages are still below the minimum wage and we don't get insurance, an Idul Fitri bonus and there are no holidays," he said. Rudianto added that he was paid Rp 600,000 (US$66.60) a month, far less than the provincial minimum wage of Rp 796,000.
He said the protest would continue until the company met their demands. "We are not camping out here looking for pity or to ask for money from the council. We just want the council members to fight for us," Rudianto said. He added that since the protest began, the company had proposed laying off 447 workers, starting in April this year.
When contacted by the Post, a member of Cipta Mebelindo Lestari's personnel department, Tina, said she was not authorized to discuss the matter, and that there was no one in the office who could answer questions.
The deputy chairman of the provincial council's commission E on welfare, Rafriandi, said the council was discussing the issue and that the company was studying the workers' demands.
"We hope this dispute between the workers and the company can be resolved soon so they do not have to continue camping out here," Rafriandi said.
The protest comes as the central government has agreed to rethink a planned revision to the controversial 2003 Labor Law – which includes lower severance pay and more flexible rules on contract-based employment and worker dismissals – following massive demonstrations across the country.