TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Hundreds of outsourced workers planned to stage a rally before the Lion Air Tower building, Jalan Gajah Mada, Central Jakarta, on Monday, July 13, 2020. The rally is to protest the firm’s unilateral decision on layoff during the COVID-19 pandemic without fulfilling workers’ rights.

The workers’ representative Awal Nurrizky said they urged the company management to pay the rights of the dismissed workers. "Our action is not a massive one. We only ask our rights to be paid," said Awal in a written statement on Wednesday, July 8.

Lion Air had reportedly fired around 900 outsourced workers. Most of them were porters or field operators. Some had worked for a dozen years yet their employment status remained as outsourced or contract employees.

They demanded the airliner immediately pay their three-month premium of BPJS Kesehatan in arrears, the remaining holiday allowance (THR) that had been paid only Rp1.5 million of the total Rp4.1 million, and the severance pay of workers who were discharged one-sidedly.

The head of the organizing department of the Indonesian Airport Trade Union Federation (FSPBI), Angga Saputra, said he would accompany the planned demonstration.

"We have been in communication with outsourced workers affected by the dismissal of Lion Air for a long time. So FSPBI will fully support the action to demand rights that they must obtain," Angga said.

For the planned peaceful rally, the FSPBI warned protestors to obey the predetermined health protocols by keeping a distance, wearing face masks and other personal protective equipment to prevent the spread of COVID-19. "We will abide by the COVID-19 protocol in a rally next Monday."

Read: Pandemic Causes Lion Air Group to Layoff Contract Workers

IMAM HAMDI