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Around 2,500 workers from electronics company PT Unisem in Batam, Riau Islands, demanded on Tuesday additional monthly wage payments of Rp 222,000.

They initially planned to go on strike but postponed it when the management of the company from Malaysia agreed to negotiate with representatives of the three labor unions at the firm.

It is the third labor hubbub over wage payments at the Batamindo industrial estate in Batam within the past month.

It started with nearly 50 workers gathered in front of PT Unisem’s compound. They were there to attend a meeting between the management and the unions’ representatives over the additional wage payments.

The additional wage is being demanded by workers who have worked in the company, which produces semi-conductors, for more than one year.

As has been widely reported, the 2011 minimum wage in Batam was set at Rp 1,180,000 per month, while the wage for 2012 has been raised to Rp 1,402,000, or Rp 222,000 higher.

Head of the Batam office of the Federation of Indonesian Metal Workers’ Unions, Yon Mulyono, said that as the additional pay had not been given for such a long time, the wages of longer-serving workers and new recruits were about the same.

“Ideally, the wage should be introduced in gradual stages, depending on the level of expertise and length of employment,” Yon said.

He said that despite the workers canceling their planned strike action, there had been some friction, as could be seen from the stoppages in certain production sections in response to the company’s slow response to the demand.

During the lead up to the intended strike, police and Army personnel were stationed at the firm’s compound to closely monitor the situation.

When workers from other companies — PT Sanyo and PT Varta Microbattery Indonesia — were about to join the PT Unisem’s protesters, they decided to disperse upon learning about the firm’s willingness to negotiate.

Head of the Batam Manpower Office, Rudi Syakyakirti, said the demand for the additional wage payment had not been responded to by the company because letters from the three unions at the company had not been combined.

The management wanted the three unions to ask for the additional wage payment in one proposal letter.

“As there has not been a coalition of the unions, we have not been able to facilitate any meeting. I hope there will be a resolution to this matter,” Rudi said.