Labour Protest Highlights Internship and Outsourcing Issues, Deemed to Suppress Wages and Workers' Rights

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com — Crowds of workers from the Indonesian Workers’ Confederation (KSPI) held a pre-May Day protest rally in front of the DPR/MPR Building, Senayan, Central Jakarta, on Thursday (16/4/2026). This action served as a warm-up ahead of the peak of the International Labour Day commemoration on 1 May 2026. President of the Indonesian Metal Workers’ Federation (FSPMI), Suparno, stated that the protest, marked by a convoy of thousands of two-wheeled vehicles from the Bogor and Bekasi areas, aimed to rekindle class consciousness among workers. Suparno assured that the escalation of the protests would be far greater during the May Day celebration. His side targeted tens of thousands of workers from various capital support areas to fill the Senayan area. “This is just pre-May Day; on May Day, we will flood this place. I’m sure FSPMI alone will have around 25,000 flooding in front of the DPR RI. For KSPI, it will reach about 50,000 at the DPR RI. It will flood here, from Jakarta, Tangerang, Bogor, Bekasi, Cikarang, Karawang, all of them,” Suparno said. On the other hand, KSPI and FSPMI have decided not to join the May Day celebration agenda held by the Prabowo Subianto administration in the Monas area. They chose to voice their demands in front of the DPR. According to him, several promises such as the formation of the National Labour Welfare Council (DKBN), the Layoff Task Force, and the ratification of the PPRT Law and Employment Law have not yet been realised. “Only one has been carried out by Mr Prabowo Subianto, namely appointing Marsinah as a national hero. The rest have not been done until today,” he added. The most crucial demand is the ratification of a new Employment Law referring to Constitutional Court Decision Number 168 of 2024, with a deadline until October 2026. Workers are concerned that the legislative process will again be conducted secretly like the Omnibus Law. “The fate of the nation’s children, the fate of the working class, is at stake in the making of the new Employment Law, which is now about to be discussed. There is no academic paper yet, our draft submission has not been discussed. Time is only 5 months left,” he revealed.