A large-scale labor rally in Medan forced dozens of companies to suspend operations on Thursday, with the firms’ workers following the lead of their Jakarta counterparts by demanding a significant minimum wage increase.
Thousands of workers from Medan and surrounding areas continued their rally for a second day on Thursday, after their Wednesday protest caused widespread traffic jams across the North Sumatra capital.
They demanded a minimum wage increase to Rp 2.2 million ($228) per month for North Sumatra, almost double the current minimum wage of Rp 1,375,000. The strikers’ demand matches the amount agreed to recently by Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo for Jakarta.
“As long as our demand is not met by the government, these types of actions will continue,” Erwin Manalu, an official with the Fighting Workers and Laborers (PBM), which organized the rally, said in Medan on Thursday.
“We believe employers will not be burdened too much if they have to pay us at the level we demand. Employers are much more burdened by the multitude of levies demanded by individuals in government,” he added.
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via Medan Wage Rally Forces 25 Companies to Halt Operations | The Jakarta Globe.
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