General strike at PT Badak NGL gets public support

The plan of the workers of the country's largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) producer PT Badak NGL Bontang to go on strike on Oct 15 has received a support from some important components in the public, local newspaper Kaltim Post reported on Tuesday.

The Dayak youth movement (GDP) is one of the supporters of the labor strike which would be held by PT Badak's all levels of workers to protest the unfairness in the company. "I understand why the workers have to go on strike to fight for their rights," the chairman of the Dayak youth movement (GDP) Yulius Lalong said.

Yulius said that he shared the workers' concern particularly related to the five points they demanded from the management. "The workers' demand to get pay increase of 60 percent, for example is quite reasonable because even with the increase, their buying power will be still below than the level before the crisis in 1997," he said.

He said that the workers' demand on the improvement of the welfare and status of the contract workers was quite logic. Many workers in the company are still based on annual contracts even though they have been working for several years.

According to the existing labor organization, if workers have been working for more than two years, he or she should be appointed as permanent workers and receive all the welfare allowance and facilities provided by the company. (*)