Indonesian workers mark Labor Day with rallies<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesian workers took the opportunity of Labor
\nDay on Tuesday to hold rallies and voice their demand for better
\npay and working conditions.<\/p>\n
Organized by newly empowered labor unions, thousands of
\nworkers staged rallies in major cities across the country. Most
\nof these rallies were peaceful, though several people were
\ninjured in the West Java capital of Bandung when hundreds of
\nworkers clashed with police.<\/p>\n
Rally participants were unified in demanding that May Day be
\ndeclared an official holiday, that workers be given greater
\nfreedom to organize and that authorities put an end to arbitrary
\ndismissals.<\/p>\n
\"The government and the House of Representatives must take
\naction to stop the troubling trend of arbitrary layoffs,\" union
\nleader Dita Indah Sari told about 5,000 workers at the National
\nMonument in Central Jakarta. Dita also demanded the government
\ndeclare May Day a national holiday.<\/p>\n
Addressing the same crowd, labor activist Muchtar Pakpahan
\ncalled on the government to raise the minimum wage 100 percent.<\/p>\n
Pakpahan, the chairman of the Indonesian Prosperous Labor
\nUnion, also demanded the government eliminate working contract
\nsystems used by employers and establish an official eight-hour
\nworkday.<\/p>\n
Dita and Pakpahan were both jailed by former president
\nSoeharto for organizing labor protests.<\/p>\n
Soeharto outlawed May Day celebrations and free trade unions
\nduring his 32-year rule. His successor, B.J. Habibie, liberalized
\nthe labor movement in April 1999. Habibie also ratified three
\nInternational Labor Organization (ILO) conventions, including
\nthose on the abolition of forced labor and on discrimination in
\nemployment and occupation.<\/p>\n
The visiting executive director of the ILO, Kari Tapiola,
\nurged Indonesian workers to unite, saying the ILO supported their
\nstruggle.<\/p>\n
In another part of Jakarta, hundreds of workers from the
\nTanjung Priok sea port in North Jakarta staged a peaceful rally
\nin front of the North Jakarta mayoralty office. The workers
\ndemanded the elimination of illegal levies at the port.<\/p>\n
Jakarta Police chief Inspector Gen. Mulyono Sulaeman said
\nabout 2,000 police officers were deployed to ensure public order
\nduring the May Day rallies in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
In Bandung, hundreds of members of the National Front of
\nIndonesian Labor Fighters clashed with police officers who
\nblocked them from the West Java legislative council building.
\nSeveral activists and police officers were injured in the
\nviolence.<\/p>\n
Some of the workers claimed they were unaware of the planned
\nprotest, saying they were told if they came to the council
\nbuilding they could settle disputes they had with their
\nemployers.<\/p>\n
\"I came because I was promised that our dispute with PT
\nLunatex would be settled here,\" said Nano, an employee of the
\ntextile firm.<\/p>\n
In Medan, North Sumatra, some 3,000 workers rallied at the
\nlocal provincial legislative council building and the governor's
\noffice, demanding better working conditions and an increase in
\nthe minimum wage.<\/p>\n
Workers from plywood factory PT Tjipta Rimba Djaya who took
\npart in the rally were docked their pay for the day. The company
\nclaimed the workers missed work to take part in the rally without
\nprior approval from the management.<\/p>\n
In Surabaya, East Java, approximately 2,000 workers, including
\nemployees of Maspion II and PT Japfa Comfeed, marched five
\nkilometers from Bungkul Park to the provincial legislative
\ncouncil building. The rally was organized by the Regional Labor
\nUnion.<\/p>\n
The workers demanded the government honor murdered labor
\nactivist Marsinah as a national hero.<\/p>\n
Marsinah, murdered in 1993, worked at watch factory PT Catur
\nPutra Surya in Porong, East Java. She was allegedly killed for
\norganizing protests to demand better wages and her murder remains
\nunsolved.<\/p>\n
\"Marsinah is the true symbol of the struggle of labor against
\nthe arbitrariness of the government and employers,\" said Arief,
\none of the protest leaders.<\/p>\n
In Semarang, Central Java, thousands of workers held rallies
\nat the Mangkang industrial zone, the local legislative council
\nbuilding and the governor's office.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the head of the All-Indonesia Workers Union
\nFederation's Central Java office, K.M. Umar, had his own take on
\nhow laborers could defend their rights.<\/p>\n
\"I urge all workers just to pray for Indonesia. Strikes will
\nonly cause more companies to go bankrupt,\" Umar said. (team)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/indonesian-workers-mark-labor-day-with-rallies-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}