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Tens of thousands rally across Indonesia for May Day
Socialist Alternatative - May 16, 2013
James Balowski – In some of the largest demonstrations in recent years, tens of thousands of trade unionists and workers took part in May Day rallies across Indonesia calling for higher wages and an end to contract labour and outsourcing. The rallies also took up broader social issues, including opposition to planned fuel prices increases, demands that the government abandon deliberations on the repressive national security bill and law on mass organisations and calls for free education and health care.
Sumatra and outer islands
Aceh Link reported that the Aceh May Day Coalition rallied at the Acehnese Regional House of Representatives and the governor's office, where they criticised the government for failing to act against companies violating workers' rights. They noted that the use of contract labour and outsourcing is continuing, including in state-owned enterprises and the banking sector.
Last year the Constitutional Court declared unlawful a section in the 2003 Labour Law that allows contract labour and outsourcing. Then, following a series of massive worker actions, the Ministry of Labour issued a degree restricting contract labour to selected industries and specific sectors. This has largely been ignored by employers: of the 33 million workers in the formal sector, only 35 percent are now permanent, a decline from 76 percent prior to the law coming into effect. The remaining 70 percent of the workforce is employed in the informal sector, with little or no job security.
In Palu, Central Sulawesi, the Jakarta Post reported that non-government organisations and workers grouped under the Central Sulawesi People's Struggle Front staged a rally demanding the government revoke the licences of "recalcitrant" oil palm plantation companies and those operating without environmental impact analysis documents.
In the South Sulawesi provincial capital of Makassar, workers presented the local labour office with 100 complaints. "Several of the complaints relate to normative workers' rights. For example the problem of dismissals, the workers insurance scheme and the municipal minimum wage", Makassar labour office secretary Yunus Said was quoted as saying by Tempo.co. The head of the Makassar city labour office, meanwhile, said that the government would be holding a commemoration with employer associations, which would be attended by the regional military commander, local police chiefs and senior government officials.
In Samarinda, East Kalimantan, the Post reported that workers rallied for better work safety and demanded that local administrations force companies to implement the health and work safety program.
Thousands of workers employed in the PT Freeport Indonesia mining concession area in Mimika regency, West Papua, commemorated May Day by observing a moment of silence and reading out the workers' oath at their respective workplaces. The deputy chairperson of the Mimika branch of the All Indonesia Workers Union Chemical, Energy and Mining Trade Union in Timika, Yopi Awom, told Seruu.com that workers would not be holding street rallies because of the poor security situation in West Papua: "Today we will not be conducting any activities at all because of the current situation and conditions in Papua, which are less than favourable".
West Java
In the only instance of violence reported this year, a May Day action in the West Java city of Indramayu was attacked by thugs from the Pancasila Youth (PP) and members of the Golkar Party's youth organisation, Kosgoro. The incident occurred shortly after workers from the Indonesian Trade Union Congress Alliance (KASBI), farmers, fisherpeople and several other organisations rallied at the Indramayu regent's official residence. "Who knows what the problem was, but we were suddenly attacked from behind by hundreds of Pancasila Youth members. Several of our comrades were injured after being beaten and pelted by stones from the rear. Initially they declared they wanted to join the action. We happily accepted, but it turned out they were lying; they attacked from behind", one of the action coordinators, Agus, told Cuplik.com.
The PP was established by the army in 1959, ostensibly to uphold the state ideology of Pancasila, but under former president Suharto the organisation became an association of notorious thugs and petty criminals who carried out dirty work on behalf of the regime. The group still has close ties with the military and police and is linked to criminal activities such as racketeering and extortion. In Cirebon, students from the Cirebon Student Forum blockaded the Java north-coast road. Action coordinator Anton Sule told Kompas.com that they were protesting Cirebon workers' low wages and poor standards of living, which are due to employers stealing their basic rights.
Antara News reported that tens of thousands of workers from the Indonesian Metal Trade Workers Federation, the Confederation of the All-Indonesian Workers Union, the Indonesia Working Forum, the Fraternity of Indonesian Muslim Workers, the National Trade Union Confederation and the KASBI, rallied at different points around Karawang regency, including the Karawang Regional House of Representatives (DPRD) and the Karawang labour office. The action was closely guarded by police, the Mobile Brigade and the military (TNI).
In Sukabumi, workers from the All-Indonesia Workers Union Federation Textile, Clothing and Leather Confederation rallied opposing planned increases to electricity rates and fuel prices. The union's chairperson, M. Popon, told Antara News that even after a recent increase in the regional minimum wage, almost 90 percent of workers in Sukabumi regency are barely getting by. "The other threat is if the electricity and fuel prices go up it is certain that companies will carry out mass sackings on the grounds that with the increase in these two components it will add to production costs", he said.
A clash was narrowly avoided when police and military tried to prevent hundreds of workers from the National Trade Union in Bogor from travelling to Jakarta to join up with workers commemorating May Day in the capital. Merdeka.com reported that upon arriving at the Keranggan toll road gate, the workers were blocked by a joint contingent of TNI and police, who asked the workers not to continue on to Jakarta. After lengthy negotiations, the workers were finally given permission to proceed, although they were allowed to depart only in stages.
Bogor district police chief assistant superintendent Asep Syafrudin said that police had deployed around 700 officers who were working with the TNI, the West Java Mobile Brigade and Bogor regency public order agency officials to prevent frictions. He added that police would take action against factory sweeps by workers [to persuade other workers to join the action] because they contradict legal norms. "If there are factory sweeping actions, we will act firmly", he said.
In the Jakarta satellite city of Bekasi, Kompas.com reported that more than 500 buses packed with workers and another 500 motorbikes moved off from factories in Bekasi's industrial zone to demonstrate at the regent's offices, the Bekasi DPRD, the labour office and other key points in the city, before travelling to Jakarta.
According to Republika.com, as many as 8000 workers from the All Indonesia Workers Union set off from Bekasi to gather at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Central Jakarta, after which they planned to hold a long march to the nearby State Palace. The trade union said that it would be raising nine demands, including rejecting low wages, the abolition of outsourcing, increasing the number of reasonable living cost index items to 84 from the current 60, justice at the Industrial Courts and for May Day to be declared a national holiday.
Tempo.co reported that as many as 20,000 workers in the Jakarta satellite city of Tangerang marched to the State Palace in Central Jakarta to join up with other workers from the greater Jakarta area. Action coordinator Sunarno said the workers had gathered on the border between Tangerang city and Kalideres, West Java, and had been moving off to Jakarta since early morning. He added that some of the workers would be heading to an action at the Soekarno-Hatta international airport.
Jakarta
In the Cakung Nusantara Bonded Zone (KBN) in North Jakarta, thousands of workers took to the streets, forcing most companies in the area to close. Detik.com quoted the deputy chairperson of the Jakarta Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry as saying that almost 98 percent of the 105 companies in the KBN had been forced to stop production because workers had been "forced" to join the demonstrations.The widespread practice of companies preventing workers from joining actions has resulted in workers conducting "sweeps" of industrial zones. Tribune City News reported that scores of women workers carrying bamboo sticks held a sweeping action at the company PT Hangsai 3 in the KBN. The women, who came from the Progressive Labour Front Bamboo Squad, demolished a 1.5 metre fence surrounding the factory and entered the grounds striking the sticks together to create a drumming rhythm. Following negotiations between workers, management and local police, the factory owner allowed the workers to join the May Day commemorations.
For the first time this year, teachers from the Indonesian Teachers Trade Union Federation and the Revolutionary Education Alliance joined the May Day commemorations in Jakarta. Teachers Federation chairperson Guntur Ismail told jpnn.com that the teachers were using May Day to express their opposition to education policies that make the ordinary people "stupid" such as the national exams, the new educational curriculum and the commercialisation of education.
Workers from the Jabotabek (Greater Jakarta) Trade Union of Struggle also targeted the House of Representatives (DPR), where they called on legislators to revoke the law on the Social Security Management Agency and abolish outsourcing. "We also reject the government's plan to increase fuel prices", action coordinator Asma was quoted as saying by Detik.com. The protesters then moved off to demonstrate at the Constitutional Court.
Thousands of workers from the Labour Joint Secretariat marching to the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle rallied at the General Election Commission in the elite Central Jakarta area of Menteng, where they called on the people to reject the 12 political parties that will take part in the 2014 elections. "Abandon the elite [political] parties that are corrupt, the parties that do not place any importance on workers' welfare", one of the workers was quoted as saying by Kompas.com.The Jakarta Globe reported that more than 135,000 workers converged on Central Jakarta, halting public transportation and closing down major arteries as workers and trade unionists marched to the State Palace and Ministry of Labour and Transmigration in protest against planned fuel price hikes and unfair labour practices. The Globe said that hundreds of workers pushed their way into City Hall to demand an audience with Governor Joko Widodo, who was criticised for allowing some companies to be exempt from paying workers the new minimum wage.
Following a series of massive labour rallies earlier in the year, many regional governments were forced to make significant increases to the minimum wage. Many companies have simply ignored the ruling or applied for deferments on the grounds that they "can't afford" to pay higher wages." The delay on the new minimum wage was evidence that the government is not pro-worker", said M. Simanjutak from the Indonesian Metal Trade Workers Federation. "It's not enough that we have been paid a low wage, but now the new wage is also delayed", he told the Globe, adding that the governor is out of touch. "He doesn't know the right direction", he said. "The poor are getting poorer."
Antara News reported that thousands of workers from Jakarta and the nearby cities of Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, Bekasi, Karawang, Purwakarta, Serang and Cilegon gathered at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Central Jakarta.
Muhamad Rusdi from the Indonesian Trade Union Council said that workers from nine cities had gathered there and would soon head off to the nearby State Palace, the DPR and other government buildings including the Finance Ministry, the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, the Ministry for State-Owned Enterprises, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Labour and Transmigration.
The Trade Union Council – which is made up of the Confederation of Indonesian Trade Unions, the Confederation of Prosperity Labour Unions and the Confederation of the All-Indonesian Workers Union – conveyed several demands including rejecting the planned fuel price hikes, which they said would impact on the price of basic goods, and calling for revisions to Ministry of Labour Regulation Number 13/2012 on the Reasonable Living Cost Index. They also slammed companies for seeking deferments on paying minimum wage increases and using paid thugs against workers and the continued use of contract labour and outsourcing, and called for the enacting of the draft law on domestic workers and revisions to the migrant workers law.
East Java
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono – who for the last four years has stayed well away from the State Palace on May Day – jetted off with his entourage to the East Java provincial capital of Surabaya for a five-day working visit to the province, including witnessing aTNI exercise involving some 2000 marines.
In Surabaya, Yudhoyono announced that as of next year 1 May will be a national holiday, and he will issue a presidential decree to make it official. Indonesia is now the ninth ASEAN country to declare May Day a national holiday. Unfortunately for the president, he was not able to escape worker demonstrations entirely, the Jakarta Post reporting that 50,000 workers from Surabaya and surrounding towns such as Sidoarjo, Gresik, Pasuruan and Malang flocked to the provincial capital to observe May Day.
Central Java
Scores of journalists from the Alliance of Independent Journalists in the Central Java provincial capital of Semarang commemorated May Day by wearing black armbands as a symbol of mourning for the fate of workers, particularly journalists, who are poorly paid and often fall victim to violence. "Media companies must provide decent wages and basic rights to workers such as health care services, pensions and clear career entitlements. Journalist don't need to be shy about saying that they're also workers", action coordinator Muhammad Syukron told Kompas.com.
Also in Semarang, Surara Merdeka reported that hundreds of factory workers rallied at the East Java DPRD demanding an increase in the minimum wage, rejecting the fuel price increases and slamming the government for not being pro-worker. Action coordinator Muhron said that wages are still extremely low and many rights are ignored, indicating that the government places more importance on the employers' interests than workers'. "In East Java the regional minimum wage is less than 2 million rupiah [A$207 a month] ... Yet in West Java and Jakarta wages are above 2 million", he said in a speech.
Members of the Railway Workers Trade Union from the state rail company commemorated May Day in Solo by distributing badges reading "Railway workers care for May Day 2013 passengers" to commuters. "This is our way of commemorating International Labour Day. As workers we share the same fate as other workers", union member Bambang Widyatmoko told Suara Merdeka.
In Yogyakarta, Detik.com reported that hundreds of workers and students from the Yogyakarta Labour Alliance, along with the Islamic Students Association, the Indonesian Muslim Students Action Front and Indonesian Islamic Students Association, commemorated May Day with a rally through the Malioboro shopping district in the centre of the city.
One of the action coordinators, Mahendra, from the Komite Penyelamat Organisasi - Perhimpunan Rakyat Pekerja KPO-PRP, said in a speech that they are calling for a national strike if the government fails to heed all of their demands. "We continue to reject low wages for workers, [call for] the abolition of outsourcing and reject fuel price increases", he said.
Joint statement
A joint May Day statement issued by the Yogyakarta May Day Action Committee, which is composed of the Yogyakarta Working People's Association - Political Organisation Congress, the Politics of the People and the People's Liberation Party, said that the Indonesian labour movement is now showing how extraordinary its power is when it unites and mobilises:
The groups said that it is clear that the existing state is a capitalist state and that workers and the ordinary people are becoming increasingly aware that the Yudhoyono government and the state side with the capitalists, and cannot defend the interests of the working class or the ordinary people:Working class rights and prosperity can only be won through direct mass action by the working class, which as much as possible involves as many workers as possible and raises workers' awareness of their power, unity and basic interests. It is precisely such direct mass action using radical methods that contributes to developing working class consciousness, real gains for workers and the development of trade unions themselves.
See also:The struggle against the poverty created by the capitalist order must of course be carried out by the working class and the ordinary people. Real change however requires that workers launch a political struggle, seizing power from the capitalists and destroying capitalism. Then replace it with socialism.
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