Labour Leaders Explain Reason for Accelerated Audience with DPR

General Chairman of the Indonesian Labour Union Alliance Congress (KASBI), Sunarno, explained the reason why the audience between the United Labour Movement with the People and DPR leaders was held earlier than the scheduled time for the 2026 May Day commemoration.

He said that initially, Gebrak requested the audience with the DPR to be held at 2:00 PM WIB, or when the action masses were already in front of the DPR, MPR, and DPD Complex. “However, the Deputy Chairman of the DPR from the Gerindra Party and the NasDem Party requested the schedule to be brought forward to 11:00 AM WIB,” Sunarno said in front of the DPR Complex on Friday, 1 May 2026.

Fortunately, he continued, several representatives from the Gebrak alliance elements were already around the Parliamentary Complex. “Thus, although technically difficult, we could still hold the audience,” he stated.

In that audience, Sunarno, as one of the Gebrak alliance representatives, conveyed the 2026 May Day demands, one of which concerned the worker wage system in Indonesia.

According to him, wage disparities between regions still occur, with quite large gaps. Therefore, he urged the government and DPR to synergise this Indonesian worker wage disparity.

Another demand, he said, was regarding the push for discussion of the Employment Bill.

Constitutional Court Decision Number 168 requires the lawmakers to immediately make changes to those regulations at the latest 2 years after the decision is read or in October this year.

In this demand, Sunarno said that the discussion of the Employment Bill must be pro-worker in principle, including involving worker unions in the discussion process.

“Without meaningful involvement, it is feared that the substance in that regulation will not match our expectations,” he said.

In the same opportunity, Deputy Chairman of the DPR Sufmi Dasco Ahmad said that the government and DPR have agreed to carry out the mandate of the Constitutional Court decision, namely discussing a new Employment Bill.

He explained that the DPR is now awaiting various inputs from worker unions submitted officially. With those inputs, the DPR can then conduct discussions in the near future.

“We are waiting. But in principle, the government has requested that by the end of this year, the Employment Law must be completed,” said the Daily Chairman of the Gerindra Party.

Meanwhile, on this 2026 May Day, Gebrak brought 10 demands to the DPR and government. Those demands include:

1. Immediately realise a pro-worker Employment Law;

2. Reform the wage system and eliminate wage disparities: implement a fair and dignified national decent wage for workers;

3. Guarantee job certainty by abolishing outsourcing, contract work, fake partnerships, and exploitative apprenticeships;

4. Immediately ratify ILO Conventions 188-190, guarantee and protect female workers up to those with disabilities;

5. Prosper educators, lecturers, platform workers, medical and health workers;

6. DPR and government must also stop mass layoffs and suppression of worker unions;

7. Realise free, quality education and healthcare;

8. Uphold civil supremacy, safeguard democracy, stop militarism, stop criminalisation of people’s movements, and free captured activists.

9. Implement true agrarian reform, stop the eviction of people’s land;

10. Stop the war as a form of solidarity for the sovereignty of the people of Palestine, Iran, Venezuela, Cuba, and others.