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Thousand of workers flock to HI traffic circle for May Day rally
Jakarta Globe - May 1, 2014
Bayu Marhaenjati, Jakarta – Thousands of workers gathered at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle on Thursday morning to mark International Worker's Day and rally for higher wages and better conditions.
"It's crowded," Jakarta Police traffic management officer Brig. Erwin said. Police predicted that around 30,000 of workers representing a variety of organizations from Jakarta and the surrounding areas took to the streets in the morning to march from the traffic circle to the State Palace and Gelora Bung Karno stadium in Senayan, Central Jakarta.
The rally's main agenda was a 30 percent regional minimum wage increase for in 2015. The Jakarta Government hiked the capital's minimum wage to Rp 2.4 million ($206) per month earlier this year. Critics argue that frequent wage hikes force layoffs, discourage industry and do not help the vast number of workers in the informal sector.
Police said they would redirect traffic during the protests as they saw fit. "The traffic is smooth – no heavy traffic, Jalan Sudirman is running smoothly," Erwin said on Thursday morning. "The heavy traffic is only around Hotel Indonesia roundabout."
Some 7,000 police officers have been assigned to monitor the rally. "3,000 of them are securing the areas around the State Palace," Central Jakarta Police chief Sr. Comr. Hendro Pandowo said, as quoted by the state-run Antara News Agency.
Officers have also been deployed to the stadium, the House of Representatives, the Vice Presidential Palace, the traffic circle and along the protest route. Some 1,500 soldiers were also deployed.
"We have carried out some preventive actions and are coordinating with the workers so they can express their aspirations orderly and safely," Hendro said. "They promise and ensure that there'll be no single vase broken during the protest. The main point is, we're ready to secure their peaceful rally."
The protests were scheduled to end at 6 p.m.
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