Workers protest against new labor laws
Workers protest against new labor laws
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Bandung/Semarang
Thousands of workers from Jakarta, Bandung in West Java, and
Semarang in Central Java staged separate, peaceful rallies to
coincide with the new labor bill becoming law on Tuesday.
The protesters said the bill, endorsed by the House of
Representatives on Feb. 25, would weaken worker's rights because
it allowed child labor, did not require employers to provide
service payments for resigning workers or those dismissed for
committing crimes, and did not allow women time off during
menstruation or following a miscarriage without a doctor's
recommendation.
During debate on the bill, only seven of 64 labor unions and
federations registered with the Ministry of Manpower and
Transmigration were involved.
"We were never involved in the deliberation process," Bambang
Eka, chairman of the West Java branch of the Indonesian
Independent Workers Union, said during a rally of hundreds of
workers in Bandung on Tuesday.
Dita Indah Sari, a labor activist from the National Front for
the Struggle of Indonesian Workers (FNPBI), in her speech before
about 2,000 workers rallying in front of the presidential palace
in Jakarta, said workers should not comply with the law.
"Those accepting the law are those who bow to the regime!
Those accepting the law are those who bow to international
capitalists!" she shouted to cheering workers.
In Jakarta workers started their long march from the Hotel
Indonesia Traffic Circle in Central Jakarta and stopped at the
nearby United Nations office on Jl. Thamrin, Central Jakarta. Six
representatives were invited in by Alan Boulton, director of the
International Labor Organization (ILO) for Indonesia.
Saiful Bahri, a labor representative who joined the meeting
with the ILO, told The Jakarta Post the ILO officials said they
could not intervene in the government's decision to sign the bill
into law.
"They could understand the law, even though deep inside their
hearts they did not fully agree with it," he claimed.
Furthermore, when the protesters continued their march to the
State Palace, neither President Megawati, State Secretary Bambang
Kesowo or any of their representatives welcomed the workers to
hear their demands.
In Bandung, hundreds of workers who rallied in front of the
provincial council compound had a similar experience. After
protesting for about five hours, no legislator showed up to
welcome them.
In Semarang, about 1,500 workers demonstrating at the
provincial council compound were also ignored.
However, Dita said the workers' struggle would show results
some day. "It depends on how much pressure we can apply. Workers
have to build a national movement in order to win the struggle,"
she said.
Dita, who has fought for workers' rights for more than ten
years, said the labor movement in Indonesia was improving.
"Workers do not merely fight for their wages. Now they have
political awareness too."
Bangun Winarno, a worker for a glassware company in Jakarta,
said they would continue fighting if the government did not meet
their demands.
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Bandung/Semarang
Thousands of workers from Jakarta, Bandung in West Java, and
Semarang in Central Java staged separate, peaceful rallies to
coincide with the new labor bill becoming law on Tuesday.
The protesters said the bill, endorsed by the House of
Representatives on Feb. 25, would weaken worker's rights because
it allowed child labor, did not require employers to provide
service payments for resigning workers or those dismissed for
committing crimes, and did not allow women time off during
menstruation or following a miscarriage without a doctor's
recommendation.
During debate on the bill, only seven of 64 labor unions and
federations registered with the Ministry of Manpower and
Transmigration were involved.
"We were never involved in the deliberation process," Bambang
Eka, chairman of the West Java branch of the Indonesian
Independent Workers Union, said during a rally of hundreds of
workers in Bandung on Tuesday.
Dita Indah Sari, a labor activist from the National Front for
the Struggle of Indonesian Workers (FNPBI), in her speech before
about 2,000 workers rallying in front of the presidential palace
in Jakarta, said workers should not comply with the law.
"Those accepting the law are those who bow to the regime!
Those accepting the law are those who bow to international
capitalists!" she shouted to cheering workers.
In Jakarta workers started their long march from the Hotel
Indonesia Traffic Circle in Central Jakarta and stopped at the
nearby United Nations office on Jl. Thamrin, Central Jakarta. Six
representatives were invited in by Alan Boulton, director of the
International Labor Organization (ILO) for Indonesia.
Saiful Bahri, a labor representative who joined the meeting
with the ILO, told The Jakarta Post the ILO officials said they
could not intervene in the government's decision to sign the bill
into law.
"They could understand the law, even though deep inside their
hearts they did not fully agree with it," he claimed.
Furthermore, when the protesters continued their march to the
State Palace, neither President Megawati, State Secretary Bambang
Kesowo or any of their representatives welcomed the workers to
hear their demands.
In Bandung, hundreds of workers who rallied in front of the
provincial council compound had a similar experience. After
protesting for about five hours, no legislator showed up to
welcome them.
In Semarang, about 1,500 workers demonstrating at the
provincial council compound were also ignored.
However, Dita said the workers' struggle would show results
some day. "It depends on how much pressure we can apply. Workers
have to build a national movement in order to win the struggle,"
she said.
Dita, who has fought for workers' rights for more than ten
years, said the labor movement in Indonesia was improving.
"Workers do not merely fight for their wages. Now they have
political awareness too."
Bangun Winarno, a worker for a glassware company in Jakarta,
said they would continue fighting if the government did not meet
their demands.