Jakarta – Thousands of Indonesian workers held massive rallies in several cities on Wednesday to demand the scrapping of a ministerial labor decree cutting long-service payments.
More than 1,000 workers from at least 30 labor organizations in the capital Jakarta and its outskirts demonstrated in front of the vice presidential palace facing central Jakarta's Monas square.
The protestors carried posters and banners demanding the revocation of the decree issued by the minister of manpower earlier this year and demanding that the minister, Al Hilal Hamdi, resign or be ousted.
"We are the life and blood of the nation, do not betray us," one of the posters said. Some of the demonstrators chanted "revoke, revoke," and "down with Al Hilal Hamdi."
Vice President Megawati Sukarnoputri was not at her office when the rally took place. Some 200 policemen guarded her office and the road in front of the palace was closed to traffic.
Some 1,000 other workers demonstrated in front of the manpower office, causing an immense traffic jam on the main artery passing the ministry.
In Bandung, the capital of West Java province, at least 3,000 workers demonstrated for a third straight day to demand the revokation of the decree. They protested in front of the local parliament.
In Sidoarjo, an industrial town near the East Java capital of Surabaya, police fired warning shots to disperse thousands of workers attempting to break through a security barricade set up to prevent their advance into Surabaya, the Detikcom online news service said. There were no immediate reports of injuries.
Thousands of other workers were already rallying in front of the East Java provincial parliament in Surabaya, Detikcom said. At least 1,000 workers conducted a similar rally in Lubuk Pakam near the North Sumatra capital of Medan, Satunet said.
Officials have said that the new decree, a revision of a previous one issued last year, was aimed at cutting long-service payments. The protestors said the new decree was a step back as it favored employers and put workers at a disadvantage.
The decree followed complaints from employers and is aimed at accommodating investors' complaints about excessive costs incurred under last year's decree, Hamdi said last month. Under the new decree workers dismissed for incompetence or taking early retirement would lose long-service payments. Only employees who were made redundant would receive service and merit pay as well as severance payments.
The old decree was issued last year by then-manpower minister Bomer Pasaribu, to replace one issued in 1996. It was designed to prevent mass dismissals following the Asian economic crisis.