Sita W. Dewi, Jakarta – At least 100,000 workers from Greater Jakarta congregated to mark Indonesia's first Labor Day national holiday.
Following mounting demand from workers, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono declared International Workers' Day on May 1 a national holiday in July last year.
Thousands of workers from the Confederation of Indonesian Workers Union (KSPI) flocked to the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Central Jakarta on Thursday morning and marched to the Presidential Palace on Jl. Medan Merdeka Utara.
Thousands of others gathered at Bung Karno Stadium (GBK) in Senayan, Central Jakarta, where the celebrations were centered. By noon, at least 100,000 workers, packed the stadium with dangdut singers and popular band Kotak enlivening the event.
The workers made a "labor wave", similar to the wave performed by soccer supporters. They also sang national and workers anthems.
"The number of participants this year exceeded previous Labor Day rallies. We are ecstatic because this is the first Labor Day public holiday. It represents our victory," said Juli Fajri, from the Indonesian Metal Workers Federation's (FSPMI) electronic workers unit from Cibitung, Bekasi.
Juli, who works as an assistant manager at Yamaha Music Manufacturing Asia, said his union had a marching band.
"We collected money to buy music instruments and practiced for about one month and a half. Last year's march was too quiet," he continued. "This is fun and refreshing. Staying at the company the whole time was kind of boring so [the Labor Day rally] was like a picnic," Asri, a participant, told The Jakarta Post.
Gerindra Party's presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto attended the celebration at GBK and thanked the union leaders for inviting him. "This boosts my spirit," he said.
Non-permanent teachers were among new participants joining the rally. Yayah, a non-permanent teacher from North Jakarta, said that they decided to join the rally in the hope of pressuring policymakers.
"We were inspired by our fellow workers' struggle and we've seen how they eventually managed to get what they demanded. I think by joining we can push policymakers to think about our fate," she said.
Workers of state-owned enterprises (BUMN) and shopping malls such as Carrefour and Giant conducted morning exercise and donated blood for the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) to mark Labor Day.
The Confederation of Indonesian Prosperous Labor Union (KSBSI) held reforestation campaigns. Of 35 million workers employed in the formal sector, only 3.4 million have unionized and formed six confederations, including KSPI and KSBSI.
On the Labor Day the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) took to the streets to celebrate the day and promoted theri cause. AJI spokesman Guruh Riyanto said that the alliance staged a rally to demand better salaries for journalists.
"Most Journalists in Jakarta are paid around Rp 2 million [US$173]. We demand that the minimum wage be set at Rp 5.7 million per month," he said. (alz)
Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/05/02/labor-day-euphoria-workers-celebrate-victory.html