M. Faiz Zaki, Jakarta – Around 500 to 1,000 workers will stage a protest in front of the Ministry of Manpower office tomorrow, March 4, 2026, to demand a tax-free Eid allowance and reject the imports of 105,000 Indian pickups for the Red and White Village Cooperatives.
President of the Labor Party and the Indonesian Trade Union Confederation (KSPI) Said Iqbal stated that workers initially planned to protest at the House of Representatives but ultimately decided against it.
"Since the House of Representatives is still in recess and there are no leaders or members present, we canceled the protest at the parliament office," he said in a virtual press conference on Tuesday, March 3rd, 2026.
Iqbal said protesters will come from Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, Bekasi, Karawang, and Purwakarta. Iqbal hopes the demonstration can be directly received by the Minister or Deputy Minister of Manpower.
The workers will raise several demands during tomorrow's protest, including regarding the payment of Eid al-Fitr allowances, as many have yet to receive theirs.
Iqbal also requested that the Eid al-Fitr allowance be exempt from tax. "As it is integrated into the wages, the allowance is taxed a significant amount," he said.
The workers also demand that the government cancel the import of Indian vehicles conducted by PT Agrinas Pangan Nusantara. This step is considered detrimental and potentially leads to mass layoffs, since domestic manufacturers are still deemed capable of meeting the demands.
Furthermore, Iqbal said that workers demand the elimination of outsourcing and reject low wages, especially since President Prabowo Subianto vowed on May Day, May 1, 2025, at Monas, Jakarta.
"But there has been any policy to eliminate outsourcing thus far. It's like an unfulfilled promise of paradise," he said.
Workers are also raising the demand for approval for the Domestic Workers Bill, as well as calling for the Iran war to stop, as it affects industrial commodity prices and creates layoff threats due to cost-cutting measures.