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JAKARTA. Tens of thousands of Bekasi workers staged a rally on Friday, blocking the Jakarta - Cikarang toll road access to Bekasi from KM 21 to KM 26.
The workers protested the ruling issued by the Bandung State Administrative Court (PTUN) granting the Bekasi chapter of the Indonesian Employers Association’s (Apindo) lawsuit aimed at revoking the 2012 minimum wage set by the local administration on Thursday.
"We are blocking access to the industrial areas to cut the supply and distribution to and from manufacturers to paralyze economic activities here," Yanto, a protester, told The Jakarta Post on Friday.
He added that he did not know how long the protest would last.
Cikarang Barat Police chief Comr. Zulham Effendy said that 2,500 police officers from Bekasi and the City Police, including the Mobile Brigade (Brimob) officers, had been deployed to secure the demonstration.
"We tried to restrain them from entering the toll road, but we were outnumbered by the workers. They've got out of control because of their anger [toward Apindo]," Zulham said.
Hundreds of vehicles and trucks were stuck at the MM2100 tollgate in Bekasi regency.
A truck driver Sunar said that he could not deliver raw materials to a triplex manufacturer in the MM2100 industrial area.
"I couldn't get to the factory but I can't get onto the toll road to go back to Jakarta. Now I'm stuck," he said.
Zulham suggested that road users heading either to Jakarta or Bandung, West Java, take alternative routes, such as via Puncak. (Sita W. Dewi/ The Jakarta Post)
