Labor protests turn violent

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)