Roadside business thrives as workers splurge

As the Idul Fitri celebrations draw near, roadside spaces around industrial plants in Tangerang municipality and regency have turned into crowded marketplaces with ubiquitous street vendors.

On Jl. Galeong in Sumur Pacing subdistrict, Karawaci, Tangerang, for instance, street vendors offer various kinds of merchandise, ranging from vegetables, basic commodities, kitchen appliances to toys.

Vendors patiently wait for prospective customers, especially factory workers.

“Factory workers have received their holiday bonuses today and we expect them spend it purchasing their holiday needs,” street vendor Abun said Wednesday.

Neighborhoods around the nearby plants annually turn into a sprawl of busy marketplaces, known as
pasar kaget, as the festivities approach, Abun said.

The neighborhood is home to more than 7,500 workers from three garment factories.

“This is a huge opportunity for street vendors. I can easily rake in Rp 300,000 in net profit within an hour,” Abun boasted. He sells various kinds of women’s underwear.

At noon on Wednesday, scores of workers from garment manufacturer PT Hansumtex scurried out of the plant’s main gate and directly swarmed the nearby street vendors.

“Yes, we have just received our Idul Fitri allowance. Now we can buy everything we need for breaking the fast and the pre-dawn meal, and also the things we need for the upcoming festivities,” worker Andini said.

The mother of one said that she receives a Rp 1.1 million (US$33.3) holiday allowance, which is equal to her monthly wage. She has been working at the company for seven years.

“During Ramadan, I have to spend more money on food. This month is special and that’s why the meals for breaking the fast in the afternoon and morning should be better than what we have on normal days,” she said.

Andini spends almost 75 percent of her monthly wage on food stocks during Ramadan, while she expects to spend the holiday allowance on new clothes and bus tickets back to her home village in Bantul, Yogyakarta.

The Idul Fitri exodus has become long tradition among people living in urban areas, as holiday revelers opt for spending their time with relatives in their home towns rather than staying in the cities. This year, the government estimate that over than 2.2 million people will be heading to their home towns ahead of the festivities.

Meanwhile, Umiyana, an employee for shoe manufacturer PT Panarub Dwikarya, located on Jl. Benoa Raya, Tangerang, said that she also spends more money on food during Ramadan, more than 70 percent of her Rp 1,118,000 monthly salary.

Umiyana did not receive a holiday allowance this year because she had only been working in the factory for 10 months, she said.

“I am still living with my parents in Mauk and I want to bring them a decent meal,” she said.

For other workers, the Ramadan and Idul Fitri festivities make no difference to their lives.

“It has been years, but my company never gives an Idul Fitri allowance to workers,” said Achmad, a worker of a golf and baseball glove manufacturer in Jatiuwung district.

The workers have launched strike to demand the allowance, forcing the factory to halt operations since Monday, Achmad said, adding that he and three other fellow workers face dismissal because of the rally. “Company management has accused me of provoking fellow workers to demand the holiday allowance,” he said.

Chairman of Tangerang chapter of the Association of Indonesian Employers (Apindo) Hery Rumawatine, however, doubted the report, saying that thriving business activity in the municipality this year allows for most employers to pay their workers Idul Fitri allowances.

“The employers understand their obligations. We don’t need to remind them,” Hery said.

Tangerang municipality is home to 1,250 industrial firms that employ 25,000 workers, while Tangerang regency has 4,000 companies with 35,000 workers.