Fadli, Batam – Dozens of healthcare workers at a COVID-19 hospital in Galang Island, Riau Islands, staged a protest over unpaid meal allowance at the hospital compound on Wednesday.
The special-infection hospital was set up at the onset of the pandemic in Indonesia in 2020 and is now looking to be shut down.
Kiki Rizki Dasaryandi, chairman of the Indonesian Nurses Association (PPNI) Batam chapter, said that a total 126 medical and non-medical workers have not received their allowance since April from the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB).
"They were informed the hospital will be shut down early next year; this has made them restless," Kiki told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.
Kiki said they were supposed to receive Rp 3 million (US$192.02) in allowance each month. Of the 126 workers, 23 are from Batam and the rest come from all over the archipelago.
"The hospital still takes care of Indonesian migrant workers who are sent there for isolation," Kiki said.
Hospital management has yet to give any comments.
The temporary hospital started operation in April 2020 on Galang Island, about 50 kilometers southeast of Batam and connected to Batam Island through a series of bridges and road over several other islands. It has a total capacity of 340 beds and 20 observation rooms.
Galang Island hosted a former camp for Vietnamese refugees. Several of the site's buildings still remained after being used as a refugee camp from 1979 to 1996. (dre)