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Capital's workers take to the streets

Jakarta Post - November 24, 2015

Thousands of workers to hold strikes across Greater Jakarta – Jakarta Post. November 24, 2015
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Government vows support for labor-intensive industries – Jakarta Post. November 20, 2015
Workers protest new wage regulation with 180km march to Jakarta – Berita Satu. November 17, 2015
Massive layoffs shake small businesses – Jakarta Post. November 16, 2015

Jakarta – Hundreds of laborers demonstrated in Jakarta on Tuesday after trade union leaders called of a national labor strike scheduled to take place from Tuesday to Friday. Many others, however, continued to work in the face of calls to join the rally.

Trade union leaders called a national strike in opposition to Government Regulation No. 78 on payment, which among other things regulates annual provincial minimum wage increases.

The unions oppose the regulation, particularly the stipulation that the minimum wage should be based on the current fiscal year's inflation and gross domestic product (GDP) growth. The new mechanism replaced the old formula based on the basic cost of living (KHL) survey of 84 basic commodities and other daily expenses.

Hundreds of laborers joined motorcycle convoys or marched around areas near the Pulogadung industrial estate in East Jakarta, carrying banners that called for the revocation of the new payment regulation. Dozens of police officers escorted the rally.

Meanwhile, dozens of other laborers carried out similar actions near the bonded zone in Cilincing, North Jakarta. Action coordinator Jumingsih said that the laborers would continue rallying for the next few days.

"We will paralyze the factories in the bonded zone. We will block the containers from leaving the area," Jumingsih said as reported by kompas.com.

Meanwhile, Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Mohammad Iqbal said the force had prepared 6,000 officers to be deployed to police the labor strikes and prevent laborers from forcing their fellows to join the demonstrations, blocking the roads or engaging in violence. The police, he added, would not intervene as long as demonstrators respected laws and regulations.

The police had anticipated industrial action in a number of areas, including Bekasi central industrial zone in West Java, Pulagadung industrial estate, Tangerang in Banten and a number of bonded zones in Cilincing, Marunda and Tanjung Priok in North Jakarta. (bbn)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/24/capital-s-workers-take-streets.html.