Ex-Vico employees continue nearly 2-month protest

Some 85 former employees of oil and gas company PT Vico Indonesia have already stayed at the headquarters of the Kutai Kertanegara regency legislative council in East Kalimantan for more than one-and-half month to demand the company to provide financial capital to help start their own business.

The local Kaltim Post daily reported Saturday that the protesting ex-employees had initially demanded Vico to extend their working contract, but the company refused on grounds that the particular project had been completed.

The protesters demanded Vico to provide capital because the company gave similar facility to employees whose contract had ended earlier.

But after months of negotiation facilitated by the Kutai Kertanegara council, Vico continued to turn down the demand.

Kaltim Post said that the protesting ex-employees had been running of supplies. They said that they could now only afford to eat meals twice or even only once a day.

They expect the legislative council could push Vico to agree to provide them with capital to start up their own businesses.(*)