The drivers drove their buses to the presidential palace in central Jakarta to air their grievances. With hundreds of buses clogging the TransJakarta bus lane, passengers were forced to queue for about an hour.

The strike also left hundreds of PPD passengers stranded, forcing them to jump on the more-expensive air-conditioned PATAS buses.

Striking drivers demanded a meeting with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, but were blocked by lines of police officers. Some pushing and shoving ensued, but there were no serious clashes.

The drivers demanded their back salaries be paid before Independence Day on August 17. They also demanded changes to the management of PPD. They threatened to seize the company's assets if their demands were not met.

Robinson Hasibuan, the secretary of the Indonesian Transportation Federation of the Prosperous Labour Union, refused to meet with presidential spokesman Andi Mallarangeng.

"Why do we want to meet Andi? He's just a spokesperson. If the president has not spoken [about this matter] what would Andi have to say to me?" Robinson said, as quoted by detik.com newsportal.

Some 2,000 PPD bus drivers and co-drivers have reportedly not been paid in nine months because of the company's financial problems.

The total unpaid salaries amount to 43.2 billion rupiah (Bt180 million).

"Almost every crew member at the bus company is unable to provide for their families," bus driver Slamet said as quoted by the newsportal.

PPD finance director Hendarko said the company was suffering monthly losses of about 3.9 billion rupiah.

"Salaries for the bus drivers total 4.8 billion rupiah per month," he said.

The Jakarta Post

Asia News Network

JAKARTA