James Balowski, Jakarta
Hundreds of thousands of Indonesian workers rallied peacefully in major cities and towns across the country on May Day against planned revisions to the labour law, which would drastically reduce existing restrictions on contract labour and outsourcing as well as reduce severance pay.
Following a series of massive nationwide protests, the government withdrew the planned revisions in early April, proposing that they be discussed on a tripartite body after input from selected academics and experts. Workers argued that this was just a different way of pushing the changes through and vowed to continue their protests, culminating on May Day, until all plans to revise the law are scrapped.
In Jakarta on May 1, some 40,000 workers, farmers, journalists, students and unemployed people marched under tight police security until a downpour forced them to disperse. Spectators cheered and applauded the marchers, while construction workers around the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle, who could not join in the rally, showed their support by unfurling banners bearing the words "long live the workers".
A heavy security presence was also evident amid huge demonstrations in the cities of Medan in North Sumatra, Bandung in West Java, Semarang in Central Java, Yogyakarta, Surabaya in East Java and Makassar, South Sulawesi. Rallies were also held in Surakarta, Manado, Batam, Malang, Ambon and Bali.
A second rally in Jakarta on May 3 was marred by violence, with security forces firing tear gas and water cannons at some 50,000 protesters after they hurled stones at police and tore down a gate in front of the national parliament. Injuries were reported on both sides and 13 workers were arrested.
The protesters were angered by what they considered to be an indifferent government response to demands that it guarantee there will be no revisions to the labour law.
From Green Left Weekly, May 10, 2006.
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