Workers celebrate May Day with huge street rallies<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta\/Medan\/Surabaya<\/p>\n
Thousands of workers across the country took to the streets on
\nSaturday to demand the government revoke rules and regulations
\nthat fail to protect workers and their welfare.<\/p>\n
More than 5,000 workers assembled at the Hotel Indonesia
\ntraffic circle in Central Jakarta at 9 a.m. Saturday, where
\nunion leaders and labor activists took turns voicing their
\ndemands.<\/p>\n
Hundreds of former employees of PT Dirgantara Indonesia (DI)
\naircraft manufacturer and Hotel Indonesia were among thousands of
\npeople taking part in the protest, organized to celebrate May
\nDay.<\/p>\n
The workers were mobilized by trade union leaders and
\nactivists from various labor groups and organizations, including
\nthe National Front for the Struggle of Indonesian Workers
\n(FNPBI), the Indonesian Labor Union Confederation (Gaspermindo),
\nthe Democratic People's Party (PRD) and the Alliance of
\nIndependent Journalists (AJI).<\/p>\n
"We demand that the government review Law No. 13\/2003 on
\nmanpower as well as other regulations that fail to protect us in
\ndisputes with the companies we work for," one speaker said.<\/p>\n
"We reject a system that allows companies to recruit employees
\nbased on temporary contracts," another said.<\/p>\n
At 11 a.m., the workers marched toward the presidential
\npalace. Along the way, they took over the Radio Republik
\nIndonesia (RRI) station to air their demands.<\/p>\n
Almost at the same time, thousands of other workers organized
\nby the Cisadane Labor Committee marched from the Danamon Building
\nin Central Jakarta to the House of Representatives compound.<\/p>\n
The workers dispersed almost immediately after they reached
\nthe presidential palace and the House compound respectively. As
\nSaturday was not a workday, neither the President nor House
\nmembers were available to meet the workers.<\/p>\n
President Megawati Soekarnoputri made an unscheduled visit on
\nSaturday to two garment factories in the Pulo Gadung industrial
\ncomplex, East Jakarta, on Saturday, where she spoke to factory
\nworkers.<\/p>\n
"I am making this impromptu visit to observe the condition of
\nworkers whose rights and work safety are sometimes ignored,"
\nMegawati said.<\/p>\n
In Medan, North Sumatra, hundreds of workers grouped under the
\nNorth Sumatra Labor Advocacy Network held a rally amid alleged
\nthreats of dismissal by their employees.<\/p>\n
Like their counterparts in Jakarta, the workers demanded that
\nthe government revoke Law No. 13\/2003 on manpower and No. 2\/2004
\non industrial disputes.<\/p>\n
The workers also urged the government to stop sending workers
\noverseas due to rampant abuse, at times resulting in death, by
\ntheir foreign employers.<\/p>\n
In Surabaya, East Java, hundreds of workers rallied on Jl. Yos
\nSudarso, lambasting the government for not siding with underpaid
\nworkers.<\/p>\n
"The law (13\/2003) favors entrepreneurs more than workers, and
\nthis proves that the Megawati-Hamzah administration does not
\nsupport workers," East Java Poor People's Front (FPRM) chairman
\nRudy Asiko said.<\/p>\n
In Palu, Central Sulawesi, thousands of people from various
\norganizations also rallied in front of the RRI compound
\nto celebrate May Day.<\/p>\n
The protesters called on workers and the public to reject
\ncontract workers, the privatization of state enterprises, oppose
\nlayoffs and demand salary increases.<\/p>\n
They also burned pictures of President Megawati and Vice
\nPresident Hamzah Haz and party attributes of Golkar, the
\nDemocratic Party and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle
\n(PDI-P).<\/p>\n
Labor protests also took place in Batam, Riau and Bandung in
\nWest Java.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/workers-celebrate-may-day-with-huge-street-rallies-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}