Jakarta – Hundreds of workers staged a rally outside of the Presidential Office in Central Jakarta on Wednesday to protest a joint ministerial decree (SKB) that would take power to set provincial minimum wages (UMPs) out of the hands of employees.

The protesters – residents of Jakarta and outlying towns, including Bekasi and Tangerang – carried banners criticizing the decree and calling on the government to take labor issues more seriously.

The SKB stipulates that UMPs are determined through negotiations in bipartite forums involving government representatives and employers.

Previously, Indonesian National Workers Struggle Front leader Dominggus Oktavianus said the issuance of the decree would in effect shift companies' financial burdens onto workers.

The demonstrators also urged the government to sack company executives whose poor management skills had caused their firms to suffer financial losses that further lead to the implementation of policies that disadvantaged workers.

The workers also demanded that employers not cut skimp on employee benefits.