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Tangerang unions to protest on May Day
Jakarta Post - April 25, 2012
Jakarta – Around 5,000 workers will stage a wave of "peaceful" protests in Tangerang regency on May 1 to demonstrate against low wages, suppression of union contracts and outsourcing.
The workers, who are based at 80 working locations throughout Tangerang city and regency, would gather near the Bitung toll road in Tangerang, Indonesian Metal Workers Federation (FSPMI) chief, Hatam Azis, said.
The unions would also be demanding that the government protect national assets and that it make May Day a national holiday, he added. "It's a day that represents the victory of workers. It symbolizes Indonesia's transition from an agrarian country to an industrializied one," Koswara, a labor union leader, said on Wednesday as quoted by tempo.co.
Koswara said all the unions had already coordinated their planned demonstrations with local police.
Meanwhile, Jakarta Police operations chief, Sr. Comr. Agung Budi Maryoto, said the Jakarta Police would deploy more than 16,000 officers to secure the city on May Day.
He also said that the police would coordinate with the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the Jakarta Public Order Agency. The Jakarta Police have predicted that around 60,000 people will participate in this year's May Day commemorations, with most expected to join rallies in Jakarta's Sudirman Central Business District (SCBD).
In North Sumatra, business owners have asked the central government to prepare for labor unrest on May Day and to watch out for strikes that could be potentially damaging for businesses. (png/mtq)
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