Achmad Faizal, Surabaya – Thousands of workers from the East Java Ring I industrial zone entered the East Java provincial capital of Surabaya to commemorate Labour Day (May Day) on Tuesday May 1.
Entering Surabaya from different directions, the workers focused on several different rally points, namely the East Java governor's office on Jl. Pahlawan, the East Java Regional House of Representatives (DPRD) on Jl. Indrapura, the Negara Grahadi building on Jl Gubernur Suryo and the East Java labour office on Jl. Menanggal.
By Tuesday afternoon, the workers from various different trade unions had already started to enter central Surabaya. Workers from Sidoarjo entered via the Rungkut industrial zone, workers from Pasuruan via the Waru traffic circle, workers from Mojokerto via Driyorejo, and workers from Gresik via the Jl. Demak area.
In addition to riding thousands of motorcycles, the workers also brought a truck which was furnished with a sound system, loudspeaker and banners with the workers' demands. The march received a police escort.
Rallying in front of the Negara Grahadi building, a group of workers from the Indonesian Muslim Workers Association (Sarbumusi) took turns in reading out Islamic law passages rather than giving speeches.
Other workers meanwhile urged the government to immediately improve Social Security Management Agency (BPJS) healthcare insurance for workers, rejected Government Regulation Number 78/2015 on Wages, opposed the entry of foreign workers into Indonesia and called for an end to union bashing.
Based on the notification submitted to the Surabaya municipal police, around 9,850 workers from Surabaya, Sidoarjo, Pasuruan and Mojokerto took part in the May Day demonstrations.
Surabaya municipal police operational chief Assistant Superintendent Bambang Sukmo Wibowo said that police had already taken steps to anticipate the rallies and police security greeted all of the actions in Surabaya.
"In addition to deploying more than 1,000 personnel, we also rerouted traffic to reduce congestion", he explained.
[Slightly abridged translation by James Balowski for the Indoleft news service. The original title of the report was "May Day, Ribuan Buruh Ring I Jatim Masuk Surabaya".]