May Day, Workers Plan Massive Social Media Rally

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Federation of Indonesian Metal Workers Union (FSPMI) on Thursday announced that its members will continue to commemorate the international workers’ day or May Day amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, taking the form of virtual rallies on every online social platform. 

“For tomorrow’s May Day we will not turn to the streets at public or government facilities. We will take action on social media,” said FSPMI secretary-general Riden Hatam Aziz to Antara on Thursday, April 30. 

Riden said the workers’ union understands the current situation and intends to respect the holy month of Ramadan and abide by the government’s physical distancing protocol to conduct the annual laborers’ tradition. 

The social platforms the workers plan to invade with their rallies include Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Whatsapp groups. This year’s rally, Riden went on, will take a humanitarian theme through fundraising for the solidarity of food and health. 

The labor unions plans to push three demands in the May Day rally; rejecting the omnibus law on work creation, refusing the mass-layoffs due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and finally demanding corporations to pay the workers' holiday allowance (THR) and their full wages. 

The FSPMI secretary said that members have been instructed to start their campaigns from this moment on up to its peak on May 1 on social media platforms with the hashtags: #TolakOmnibusLaw, #StopPHK, and #LiburkanBuruhDenganUpahTHRPenuh.

ANTARA