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Government anticipates large May Day rallies
Jakarta Globe - April 17, 2012
Arientha Primanita – Despite holding a special meeting on Monday to prepare for massive rallies on May Day in Bogor, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono publicly tried to play down the possible demonstration.
A number of labor organizations have vowed to take to the streets across the country on May 1 to voice protests against government's fuel price hike plan and demand better wages for workers.
The May Day protests have ended violently in past years. Some people are saying that this year's protest could be bigger than previous years due to anger over government plans to increase the price of fuel.
Presidential spokesman Julian Aldrin Pasha said Yudhoyono welcomed May Day as a day to celebrate the achievement of the labor movement. "Labor Day is a positive thing, not a day when people do destructive things. It will be celebrated across the world. So, we don't have to prepare measures in anticipation for any rallies," he said.
Plans for the protest also come amid a report over the weekend that Indonesian workers making apparel for London's Olympic Games are being paid as little as Rp 5,000 (55 cents) an hour.
British newspaper The Independent alleged that the clothing being made for the Games was "being manufactured for Adidas in sweatshop conditions in Indonesia, making a mockery of claims by London 2012 organizers that this summer's Games will be the most ethical ever."
The newspaper reported that workers at nine Indonesian factories that had contracts to produce Olympic shoes and clothing for Adidas were working up to 65-hour weeks and earning as little as Rp 5,000 an hour.
The workers – who are mainly young women – also claimed that they endured verbal and physical abuse, were forced to work overtime and were punished if they failed to reach production targets, the report said. A number of labor organizations said they will use the May Day to voice their demand on raising workers' welfare.
Julian said Yudhoyono had asked Muhaimin Iskandar, the manpower and transmigration minister, to look for ways to boost the welfare of country's labor force. "Workers and businesspeople need each other. So, if there is a dispute, both sides should amicably solve it," he said.
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