Violence mars mass labor demos
Violence mars mass labor demos
The Jakarta Post, Cimahi/Medan/Surabaya
Thousands of workers have jammed the streets of the main cities
of Medan, Surabaya and Cimahi in massive protests over the newly
set minimum wages, which they say are below the cost of living.
In the protests on Monday several workers were injured in
Medan when security personnel tried to hold back the crowd.
The fence of the East Java governor's office was torn down
after a request made on behalf of the estimated 10,000 workers
gathered there, to meet Governor Imam Utomo, was refused. His
staff members had relayed the message that the governor was too
busy preparing for the arrival of President Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono.
The hundreds of police on duty were outnumbered by the
protesters, who had been arriving in trucks from Surabaya,
Sidoarjo, Mojokerto and Pasuruan since early morning.
Once they entered the governor's office compound, the
protesters, shouting their demands, lowered their flag to half-
mast in a reflection of their "grief" over the new minimum wage
-- while others stamped on plaques at the governor's office.
The protest was the latest, and the biggest, in the province
following the governor's recent decision to raise the minimum
wage from Rp 578,000 (US$57.80) per month to Rp 665,000 -- much
lower than the workers' demand for Rp 1,330,000 per month. The
new wage will take effect on Jan. 1.
"We staged protests before but were ignored. So we staged a
massive protest to show the governor that workers in East Java
reject the new minimum wage," said Jamaluddin, a protester.
Thousands of workers in Medan, however, were not as successful
in their descent on Deputy Governor Rudolf Pardede's office.
Several workers, grouped under the North Sumatra Workers
General Action, were injured, allegedly after being pushed by
police officers.
The group's coordinator, Baginda Harahap, regretted the
incident, which he said could have been avoided if the
administration had taken seriously the workers' dissatisfaction
over the new minimum wage of Rp 737,794 per month, from the
previous Rp 600,000 per month.
The workers earlier proposed a new minimum wage of Rp 1.2
million for single workers and Rp 1.5 million for married ones.
North Sumatra administration spokesman Eddy Syofian said the
administration understood the workers' demand but it could not
ignore the difficult times faced by businesspeople.
In the West Java town of Cimahi, hundreds of workers demanded
on Monday that West Java Governor Danny Setiawan revoke the
city's new minimum wage of Rp 715,000, from the previous Rp
601,000.