Workers plan massive rally on May Day

Workers plan massive rally on May Day

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Despite the absence of another rally of protest on the fuel hike
-- as the government had planned to announce earlier -- Jakartans
will still have to deal with traffic congestion on the main
streets on Wednesday as around 10,000 laborers and students will
stage a rally to commemorate World Labor Day -- or May Day -- on
May 1.

Massive May Day rallies are also expected to take place in
other big cities, including Medan in North Sumatra and Surabaya
in East Java, as the laborers' protest against the government's
unwillingness to grant them a May Day holiday.

Coordinator of the Committee for May 1 Action in Jakarta, B.
Lucky Rossintha, told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday that more than
50 workers' unions and non-governmental organizations will be on
the streets to voice their demands for the laborers' welfare.

Starting at 10 a.m., the participants will move to the
National Monument (Monas) compound in Central Jakarta from three
embarkation points: Senen railway station, the Proclamation
Monument and the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle.

Lucky said the 10,000 protesters, organized by the Committee
for May 1 Action, will go straight to the nearby State Palace on
Jl. Medan Merdeka Utara to deliver their positions on President
Megawati Soekarnoputri's administration.

Another group, led by the 3,000-member Metal Workers Union,
will instead march to the House of Representatives compound on
Jl. Gatot Subroto in the Senayan area, Central Jakarta.

Women's rights activists will also stage a rally to demand a
maternity leave for workers and other rights that workers
deserve.

The Jakarta Police have anticipated the marchers and will
disperse any groups without a demonstration permit. The police
spokesman, Sr. Comr. Anton Bachrul Alam, said around 7,000
officers would be deployed to secure the rally.

The officers come from different divisions including the
Mobile Brigade, the Support Division, the Traffic Police and
Detectives.

"The police's task is to serve the people. As long as they
(marchers) don't disturb the public, we'll allow them," Anton
said.

Minister of Manpower and Transmigration, Jacob Nuwa Wea, had
called on laborers earlier not to stage the rally during the
commemoration.

On Wednesday, the Democratic People's Party (PRD) and students
organizations said they would join the rally due to their concern
over legal, political and economic reforms.

All the expected demonstrators deplored Megawati's regime,
saying it had yet to promote and protect labor rights.

Lucky said since the Committee for May 1 Action began in 1998,
only Jacob, "who gives intimidating responses to our demands, has
actually inspired us to protest".

May Day is held to celebrate the laborers' victory in 1890 in
their struggle to reduce 12-hour work days to eight. The
Indonesian people, in 1918, were the first Asians to celebrate
the day.

Founding president Sukarno had declared May Day a national
holiday as stipulated in a 1948 Law on manpower which was
supported by other regulations. The laborers used to mark the day
with a massive rally nationwide.

The change of regime under Soeharto in 1966 halted the
commemorations with the issuance of several presidential decrees.
The ministerial regulation No. 3/1987 only stipulates 15 national
holidays per year for workers but does not include May 1.

"We want the new regime, under Sukarno's daughter, to return
the laborers' right for a holiday on May Day," Lucky remarked.

The laborers will also ask the government to erase foreign
debts and cease to be dependent on international financing
bodies. Additionally, they will request a doubling of laborers'
salaries so people can make ends meet.