Indonesia: Kong Tai workers protest

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Indonesia: Kong Tai workers protest

By May Sari

JAKARTA — Having failed to gain satisfaction from their employer or the Indonesian government, thousands workers from PT Kong Tai Indonesia protested outside parliament here on February 21.

The workers are demanding payment of eight months' unpaid wages and retrenchment compensation. The company, which produces Reebok shoes, has only agreed to pay one months' wages. At the parliament, the workers sought a meeting with the House Commission on Human Resources and Religious Issues.

The Kong Tai workers' struggle began last September when the company closed down production, sacking 4671 of its workers. The company refused to pay the wages and severance pay owed to the workers because it claimed it had not made any profit after the 1997 economic crisis. Workers' representatives visited the owner, Patrick Tang, a Taiwan citizen based in Hong Kong, but got no response.

Sastro, one of the protesting Kong Tai workers, said it made no sense for the company to claim it had not made profits. "All of a sudden, the company reported that it could not continue production because there were no orders. Before that, we had to work very hard because the company said we had many orders. I am afraid it was only the company's excuse to close the factory to avoid mounting calls to increase our wages."

Last month, Reebok's management in Indonesia told a press conference that several companies would close and move to other countries in the region, such as Vietnam and Thailand, where labour is cheaper.

Such situations are increasing in Indonesia. Many companies have closed their factories, claiming that workers' demands for increased wages and "political instability" make it difficult for companies to operate.

Dominggus, an official from the independent Indonesian National Front for Labour Struggle (FNPBI), which is backing the Kong Tai workers' struggle, said many members of the union had lost their jobs in this way. "Companies always say that they have not enough orders to maintain production, but we understand that is part of their strategy to get more and more profit. That is how capitalism works in the Asian region."

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