Pertamina's contract workers hold demonstration in Balongan

About 400 contract workers of the Balongan refinery in Indramayu, West Java owned by oil and gas company Pertamina staged a demonstration on Tuesday to demanding an increase in salaries, Republika daily reported.

The workers said they received between Rp 290,000 and Rp 450,000 per month, which they said were too small to cover the living expenses of their families.

The salary had dropped by 50 percent in value due to the monetary crisis, they said.

The refinery management held a meeting with the workers to find a solution but the result of the meeting remained unknown as the press and the local councilors were denied access to the meeting, the paper said. (*)