Jakarta – Thousands of Indonesian workers yesterday held massive rallies in several cities, including the capital, to demand the scrapping of a ministerial labour decree cutting long-service payments.

Police fired rubber bullets in the city of Sidoarjo in East Java to disperse thousands of workers trying to break through a barricade set up to prevent them from marching on the provincial capital of Surabaya. One protester was seriously wounded and had to undergo surgery to remove a rubber bullet, state Antara news agency said.

In Jakarta, more than 4,000 workers from at least 30 unions in the city and its outskirts protested in front of the presidential palace. "The ministerial decree only benefits employers," said Mr Mustopa, a worker from the city of Serang in West Java.

The protesters demanded that the decree be revoked and that Manpower Minister Al Hilal Hamdi resign or be ousted. Under the new decree, issued by the Manpower Minister earlier this year, workers dismissed for incompetence or taking early retirement would lose long-service payments. Only those who were made redundant would receive service and merit pay as well as severance payments.

Similar protests were carried out in Bandung, Surabaya and Lubuk Pakam.