May Day 2024; Indonesian Labor Unions to Stage Mass Rally

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Ahead of International Labor Day, also known as May Day, which falls on Wednesday, May 1, the National Executive Council of the Confederation of Indonesian Trade Unions (DEN KSBSI) appealed to all regional coordinators throughout the country to stage a rally in their respective regions. 

The KSBSI considers May Day an important event to voice the aspirations of workers, as they feel that regulations passed by the government continue to erode the rights of workers in the archipelago.

The KSBSI will voice six demands in the upcoming rally, which include following up on the recommendations of the 2023 ILO session on the Job Creation Law, improving the wage system, revoking Law No. 4 of 2023 on the development and strengthening the financial sector (UU P2SK), ensuring that workers' retirement savings (JHT) do not belong to the state, revising Government Regulation (PP) No. 35 of 2021, and guaranteeing freedom of association and negotiation.

Elly Rosita Silaban, President of the KSBSI, confirmed the action agenda. She detailed that KSBSI Jakarta's rally will be centered at the Arjuna Horse Statue in the National Monument (Monas) area, Central Jakarta.

“It will not be a massive rally,” she told Tempo on Tuesday, April 30.

Elly hoped that the fate of workers would improve with the election of Prabowo Subianto and Gibran Rakabuming Raka as President and Vice President for the 2024-2029 period. She suggested that one way to accomplish this would be to create job opportunities to accommodate the rising unemployment rate.

“Especially for digital platform workers. They should have protection and special regulations should be made to accommodate them as workers with access to Jamsos (social security),” Elly remarked.

50,000 Workers to Take Part in May Day Rally

Meanwhile, the Labor Party in tandem with the Confederation of Indonesian Trade Unions (KSPI) will also hold a May Day rally. Said Iqbal, the party’s chairman, and the KSPI President, predicted that 50,000 workers from Greater Jakarta or Jabodetabek will join the action, which will be held in front of the State Palace from 09:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The mass will then move to Istora Senayan.

Other than Jakarta, the May Day rally will also be held simultaneously throughout Indonesia, including in Serang, Bandung, Semarang, Surabaya, Yogyakarta, Batam, Medan, Banda Aceh, Palembang, Padang, Bengkuku, Pekanbaru, Jambi, Lampung, Banjarmasin, Palangkaraya, Samarinda, Pontianak, Makassar, Konawe, Morowali, Gorontalo, Ambon, Ternate, Jayapura, Mimika, Lani Jaya, Tolikara, and others.

Said revealed that this year’s May Day rally will call for two main issues: Revoking the Omnibus Law on Job Creation Law and Eliminating Outsourcing and Rejecting Low Wages.

HENDRIK YAPUTRA

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