Jakarta – Thousands of Indonesian labor union members flooded into Jakarta for a massive rally on Saturday, urging the government to stop layoffs at multinational corporations.

Simultaneous rallies were held in Jakarta, Bogor, Batam, Bekasi, Depok, Medan, Surabaya, Semarang and Tangerang. In total, 30,000 workers joined in the action, said Said Iqbal, the chairman of the Confederation of Indonesian Workers Union (KSPI).

"Today, 30,000 workers demanded two things: stop the layoff of Indonesian laborers and revoke the 2015 government regulation that has led to low wages," he said at the rally as quoted by Antara news agency on Saturday.

The rally started from the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle and continued up to the State Palace before finally gathering in Kelapa Gading, a commercial district in North Jakarta, to celebrate the 17th anniversary of the Indonesian Metal Labor Union Federation (FSPMI).

As previously reported, some Japanese and South Korean factories have announced plans to cut jobs in Indonesia. The FSPI has claimed that thousands of workers will lose their jobs if the plans were to be implemented.

Calling the claims exaggerated, Vice President Jusuf Kalla pledged to boost economic growth to minimize layoffs in 2016. "We will try to keep the economy running to reduce the magnitude of layoffs," he said as quoted by Antara. (ags)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/02/06/workers-flood-jakarta-protest-layoffs.html