May Day sees thousands of peaceful marchers

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Thousands of workers in the country observed International Labor Day on Wednesday with rallies that passed off peacefully in the main, but failed to live up to earlier boasts of huge turn- outs.

It was business as usual in most factories when the workers and labor activists took to streets to demand that the government show its commitment to labor reform by increasing salaries, improving working conditions and declaring May 1 a public holiday.

There were minor scuffles between police and around 150 students in Surabaya, but peace and order were maintained nationwide on Wednesday.

Last year's celebration was marked by violence when hundreds of workers from a tile factory in Tangerang, West Java, ran amok, leaving four cars and the firm's premises badly damaged.

Jakartans' fears of massive rallies on May Day did not materialize on Wednesday as only half of the estimated 10,000 protesters representing 50 labor unions and non-governmental organizations marched along the city's main thoroughfares. The sweltering heat, which reached 33 degrees Celsius, did not stop the workers from gathering at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle at around 10 a.m.

No traffic congestion was apparent along the streets despite earlier fears.

Around 1,500 workers grouped under the Committee for May 1 gathered at the National Monument (Monas) square at noon after a public speech in front of the nearby State Palace calling on President Megawati Soekarnoputri to respect workers' rights.

"Our interests are the same: social welfare. This day is about workers, tycoons, factory owners, the Indonesian government and the international community," union leader Dita Indah Sari told the crowd assembled at Monas.

Dita demanded that the government and the House of Representatives take concrete action to stop the troubling trend of arbitrary layoffs. She also called for a 100 percent increase in the minimum wage.

Dita, winner of Magsaysay Award last year, was jailed by former president Soeharto for organizing labor protests.

Soeharto outlawed May Day celebrations and independent trade unions during his 32-year rule. His successor, former president B.J. Habibie, liberalized the labor laws in April 1999 and ratified three International Labor Organization (ILO) conventions, including those on the abolition of forced labor and discrimination in the workplace.

ILO director Alan Boulton also told the workers protesting at Monas that he supported their struggle and the demands they were making, and urged Indonesian workers to unite.

Despite the rallies, the operations of companies in the Pulo Gadung bonded zone in East Jakarta were not disrupted.

In response to the workers' demands for a holiday in observance of Labor Day, Vice President Hamzah Haz said he rejected the idea on the grounds that Indonesia already enjoyed too many national holidays. The country has 13 holidays related to religious and national celebrations.

"We already have too many national holidays ... but workers may celebrate (May 1) if they want," Hamzah said after officiating at a national discussion on economic recovery.

House leaders, however, backed the demand in recognition of the contribution of workers to Indonesian society. Instead of adopting International Labor Day, House Deputy Speakers Muhaimin Iskandar and A.M. Fatwa suggested that Indonesian workers select their own date.

"It would be better if the holiday commemorated a national event, like the birthday of slain labor leader Marsinah," Muhaimin said, referring to a labor leader who was murdered for organizing a protest in Sidoarjo, East Java, in 1993.

Police were on alert in Bandung, where two days of massive labor rallies last year left scores injured. Labor rallies were also reported in the North Sumatra capital of Medan and the South Sulawesi capital of Makassar.

A huge photograph of Minister of Manpower Jacob Nuwa Wea was burned in Medan in protest at his opposition to the workers' demands for a national holiday to mark May Day.

In Gresik, East Java, police arrested four labor activists for allegedly forcing workers of a company to join a rally.

In Makassar, workers gathered in at least three locations across the city and began to march on the gate of the Reform Tollway. The protesters also demanded a 100 percent salary rise.

Independent labor leader Muchtar Pakpahan had earlier called on workers to skip work on May Day and stage demonstrations instead. Pakpahan, who is also vice president of the World Laborers Confederation, maintained that although May 1 was not a public holiday in Indonesia, a 1951 law which allowed workers not to work on that day was still valid.