Zombie March: Fuel Tank Drivers Continue Struggle for Basic Rights

Hundreds of fuel tank drivers have walked 160 km, from Bandung to Jakarta, to highlight their struggle for basic rights. The drivers come from across Indonesia and are members of the transport union FBTPI. They dressed as zombies to highlight the real risk they face as drivers, and the inhumane way the company treats them.

Photo credit: Tribun News

This is the third action the drivers have taken, following a strike in November 2016, and a second in June 2017 which lasted over 2 weeks. They demand PT Pertamina Petra Niaga and Elnusa Petrofin:

1. Reinstate the 1,095 dismissed drivers
2. Stop the use of outsourcing and contract work
3. 8 hour shifts, with paid overtime and no performance system
4. Pay the healthcare insurance
5. Pay severance pay and pensions
6. Provide annual leave to all workers
7. Pay for accident costs

These demands point to the serious problems the drivers face. They work long hours, with frequent overtime. The fatigue puts them at risk of accidents. But the company refused to pay compensation when one driver died. And when other drivers have gone to hospital, they have found the company has not paid their healthcare insurance. When another driver was recovering from burns after his vehicle caught alight, the company stopped paying his wage.

The workers are also outsourced through another company which has seen their conditions decline. And then during Ramadan 2017, 350 drivers from the Jakarta depot were made redundant by text message and were not paid their bonus, overtime or owed wages. More than 700 more workers were than made redundant in July.

Show support for the fuel tank drivers by signing their petition here: https://www.change.org/p/manusiakan-awak-mobil-tangki-pertamina