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Medan brought to standstill by worker rally
Jakarta Post - May 2, 2006
Jakarta – Business in the North Sumatra capital Medan ground to a halt Monday, with many companies unable to operate as normal because their employees were taking part in rallies to mark International Labor Day.
Yopie Batubara, chairman of the North Sumatra chapter of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), said 1,500 factories in the province closed their doors Monday, resulting in total losses of Rp 150 billion (US$160 million). There are about 7,500 factories in total in North Sumatra that are members of Kadin.
Rallies were also held in several other big cities in Indonesia, including Jakarta, Surabaya, Bandung, Surakarta, Makassar, Manado, Batam, Malang, Ambon and Yogyakarta.
At the Medan Industrial Estate (KIM) as many as 200 companies remained closed Monday. The scene was similar in other business areas in the city, including along Jl. H.M. Yamin and Jl.
Sisingamangaraja. Most of the companies decided to remain closed because of fears the worker rallies would turn destructive.
PT KIM manager Jefri Sirait said the businesspeople he contacted informed him the closures were only temporary. Business activities are expected to return to normal Tuesday, he said.
"They have the right to halt their operations, even though I gave them assurances there was no reason to worry as we had already requested extra police protection," Jefri said.
In Bandung, representatives of the West Java chapter of the Indonesian Textile Association (API) said massive Labor Day rallies had caused association members losses amounting to Rp 15.2 billion (US$1.66 million).
"However, the losses were not as bad as an earlier strike (on April 12) because we were already prepared," said Ade Sudrajat, chairman of API's West Java chapter. He added that losses from the earlier strike totaled Rp 70 billion.
Nearly 80 percent of workers employed at 248 textile companies throughout West Java took part in rallies Monday, Ade said.
This was confirmed by Dedi Wijaya, chairman of the West Java chapter of the Indonesian Employers Association.
However, many of the workers agreed to work Sunday or on an upcoming holiday to make up the lost day, Dedi said. Thousands of workers took part in rallies throughout Bandung.
In Ambon, Maluku, 10 members of the Muslim Student Association held a protest against a government proposal to revise the 2003 Labor Law. The protesters were closely watched by about 60 police officers.
In a speech in front of the Maluku governor's office, the protesters called on companies to do more to improve worker welfare.
"Why are students the ones holding a rally on Labor Day? Because the workers are busy working for a living," one of the demonstrators, Djamaludin Arey, said.
In Batam, Riau Islands, about 200 members of the Indonesian Prosperity Trade Union (SBSI) rallied at the Batam mayor's office. One of the demands of the workers was that May 1 be declared a national holiday.
In Makassar, South Sulawesi, about 1,000 workers demonstrated in front of the South Sulawesi governor's office. The workers reiterated their opposition to any government policy that harmed the welfare of workers.
A similar rally was held in Yogyakarta, where workers spoke out against the involvement of universities in the controversial revision of the Labor Law.
"The involvement of universities will just be used by the authorities and business owners to legitimize their oppression of workers," rally coordinator Muhamad Yusuf said.
In Surakarta, Central Java, Labor Day was marked with a so-called workers' congress in City Hall, while in Malang, East Java, a rally blocked off a major road linking Malang and Surabaya.
In Manado, North Sulawesi, about 500 demonstrating workers arrived at the North Sulawesi governor's office in buses, trucks and on motorcycles.
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