Labor protests turn violent
JAKARTA (JP): Workers' protests turned to violence in the West Java capital of Bandung when thousands of demonstrators vandalized the provincial legislative council building, destroying and setting fire to more than 30 cars and at least 25 motorcycles on Wednesday.
The violence was part of a wave of workers' protests in large cities on Wednesday, with the only concrete demand being that the two ministerial decrees on labor issues be revoked.
President Abdurrahman Wahid's earlier refusal to nullify the controversial decrees nevertheless granted some concessions to workers.
According to the President, provinces were allowed to continue implementing Decree No. 150/200 if it were deemed necessary.
Most of the windows of the legislature building were broken by the protesters, who also set alight furniture, books and documents, Antara reported.
Stones and fragments of glass were found scattered in most parts of the complex, including the small mosque.
On Tuesday thousands of protesting workers blocked the Padalarang-Cileunyu toll road, while voicing similar demands.
The All-Indonesia Workers Union Federation (FSPSI) strongly denied that the violence had been carried out by its members.
Later in the day, Bandung police said that the alleged masterminds of the violence had been identified.
In Surabaya, East Java, thousands of workers from companies located in Sidoarjo, an industrial town adjacent to Surabaya, renewed their protest by blocking the main streets in the town, which necessitated traffic diversions for hours.
The East Java administration has officially refuted the new Decree No. 78/2001.
They also pelted dozens of factories adjacent to the road with stones, in defiance of the riot police and Marines safeguarding the area.
A protester was shot in the leg, following a clash between the protesters and security officers.
"Warning shots were fired by security officers to quell the angry mob," a demonstrator said.
The protesters finally managed to break through the security officers' barricade that was blocking them from entering Surabaya.
Around 2,000 workers in open trucks then stormed the provincial legislature building in Surabaya to voice their demands.
Abdurrachman, an employee of PT Maspion II, said that the workers had not been informed that the President had refused to revoke the controversial ministerial decrees.
"This is all a game between the President and his ministers. Things will become worse," he said.
Surabaya Police chief Sr. Comr. Suharto said that four people had been identified as provocateurs, but no arrest has been made.
Jakarta
In Jakarta, thousands of workers from FSPSI and the Labor Union Federation for Textile, Garment and Leather Workers (FSPTSK) staged a rally in front of the Vice President's Palace on Jl. Medan Merdeka Selatan, urging the revocation of Decrees No. 78 and No. 111 issued by Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Alhilal Hamdi earlier in May this year.
They also demanded that old decree No. 150/200, issued by then Minister Bomer Pasaribu, be re-enacted.
The demonstrators who arrived at the location in dozens of buses had tied their heads with white, blue and red banners with "FSPTSK" written on them. They also stretched out a long banner that read "revoke it or it will claim lives".
One of the protesters, Handoko, said that the workers preferred to stage a rally at the Vice President's office because the ministerial decrees had been produced in Cabinet meetings presided over by Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri.
Some of the protesters blocked Jl. Kebon Sirih in front of the city council building and demanded to meet the councillors.
The workers were unable to meet Governor Sutiyoso, who was reportedly busy with other matters.
City Council deputy chairman Djaffar Badjeber, who met some 30 workers' representatives, expressed his support for the workers' demands.
"We disagree with the decrees, which seem to benefit businesspeople," Djaffar said.
In response to the workers' protest, President Abdurrahman refused to nullify the decrees on Tuesday, due to concern over the impact that would have on investors.
In a meeting with FSPSI chairman Hikayat Atika Karwa, the President said the two decrees had to be issued to replace previous ministerial Decree No. 150/2000, following complaints from investors.
Labor activists had expressed anger over the revision of the decree, branding it a setback for workers.
The old decree stipulated, among other things, that employers were obliged to provide workers who resigned compensation and a bonus for their "dedication". According to the new decree No. 78/2001, workers who resign will receive only a compensation payment.
The old decree did not set out any terms that workers who had resigned had to meet in order to be eligible for the money, while the new decree does. (01/jun/nur/sur)