May Day Labour Protest Shifted from DPR to Monas Due to This Reason

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - The labour demonstration on Labour Day or May Day on 1 May will now take place at the National Monument (Monas) alongside President Prabowo Subianto, rather than in front of the DPR RI building as originally planned.

This was revealed by the President of the Confederation of Indonesian Trade Unions (KSPI) and the Labour Party, Said Iqbal, during an online press conference on Wednesday (29/4/2026).

Said Iqbal stated that the demonstration, initially set to occur in front of the DPR, was relocated to Monas because the President fulfilled the workers’ request, under the KSPI, to meet and discuss on Tuesday (28/4/2026).

“There is a reason why KSPI is moving the planned May Day action on 1 May 2026, which was originally in front of the DPR RI building, to Monas in Jakarta, and that is because President Prabowo agreed to meet and discuss with us,” said Said Iqbal during his press conference.

Said added that in the discussion with President Prabowo, KSPI brought 11 issues and hopes to the President, and his side stated that several issues are under consideration for approval.

“We brought 11 issues and hopes from the workers for discussion with the President, and finally, the discussion plan was approved before 1 May,” continued Said Iqbal.

Additionally, the reason for changing the location of the labour action to Monas is that the workers want crucial issues to be directly addressed by the President during May Day at Monas.

“The second reason why the KSPI May Day action is being moved from the DPR to Monas in Jakarta is that from the 11 issues and hopes, there are several crucial issues that are very important for Indonesian workers which must be answered and affirmed by Mr President, which of course is progress or follow-up from the requests, hopes, and issues brought by KSPI,” he explained.

Said Iqbal estimated that hundreds of thousands of workers will attend the May Day at Monas, with 50,000 workers coming from Jabodetabek, Karawang, Purwakarta, Subang, Greater Bandung, and parts of Greater Cirebon.

“There will be 50,000 worker masses from Jabodetabek, Karawang, Purwakarta, Subang, Greater Bandung, and parts of Greater Cirebon,” he clarified.

In addition to Monas, the May Day action will also be held in other regions such as Bandung, Serang, Semarang, Surabaya, Yogyakarta, Medan, Banda Aceh, Lampung, Batam, Bengkulu, Palembang, Banjarmasin, Samarinda, Pontianak, Makassar, Manado, Kendari, Konawe, Ambon, Ternate, Mataram, Lombok, Kupang, and several major cities in Papua.

“So the KSPI May Day celebration action, supported by the Labour Party, will spread across 38 provinces and more than 350 regencies/cities,” he said.

Said Iqbal also urged workers participating in the May Day action to be orderly, peaceful, non-anarchic, and not to use violence.

“It needs to be emphasised and at the same time advised to KSPI member workers and the Labour Party, as well as other workers throughout Indonesia, to participate in the May Day celebration with full joy and spirit of struggle peacefully, must be orderly, must not be anarchic, and must not use violence, respect the interests of other people,” he concluded.