Mustafa Silalahi, Jakarta – Around 3,000 workers from the Indonesian Metal Trade Union Federation (FSPMI) and ex-workers of Panasonic and Nippon Glass held a demonstration in front of t

Fadli, Batam – Riau Islands businesspeople have proposed setting the 2008 monthly minimum wage for Batam city below the average inflation rate.

Apriadi Gunawan, Medan – Dozens of child laborers in North Sumatra have been prevented from returning home for the Idul Fitri holiday, a local child welfare NGO has reported.

Ninin Damayanti/Sutarto, Jakarta – As many as 13 trade unions have sent letters rejecting the Government Draft Bill on Severance Pay being passed, to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono,

Yuli Tri Suwarni and Andi Hajramurni, Bandung/Makassar – Despite opposition to the Commercial Court's verdict declaring state-owned aircraft company PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PTDI) bankr

Alvin Darlanika Soedarjo, Jakarta – The International Labour Organization (ILO) has called on Indonesia to commit to two international conventions in order to better protect its migrant

Jakarta – Major labor unions will very likely accept the 3-percent severance payment scheme drafted by the government in the regulation on dismissal benefits.

Jakarta – The government is working on a draft regulation aimed at improving the rights of housemaids and to provide legal certainty for the domestic workers generally in Indonesia.

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – Indonesia has demanded Malaysia investigate and punish employers suspected of killing or abusing Indonesian workers after another Indonesian maid was allegedly t

Purwokerto, Central Java – Hundreds of taxi drivers grouped in the Kobata Taksi cooperative in Purwokerto to stage a rally Wednesday demanding fairness from Banyumas Transportation Offi

Jakarta – Most labor unions have failed to attract members due to skepticism among workers, a leading unionist has said.

Jakarta – Almost 10 years after Indonesia ratified the ILO Convention and seven years after the freedom of association law was passed, the archipelago has more trade unions but less uni

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Yogyakarta – Employers are not fulfilling their obligations under the laws on labor and social security to arrange for basic healthcare services for their employees

Mustaqim Adamrah, Jakarta – Thousands of workers from two local shoe manufacturing companies staged a rally Monday to extend their demands for American sportswear giant Nike Inc.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Labor exporters and activists have called on President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to evaluate the implementation of a 2006 presidential instruction on rapid,

Jakarta – Jakarta Industrial Relations Court decided Thursday that retail giant Sogo must reemploy 45 staff who were fired due to the closing of the chain's Plaza Indonesia branch in Ce

Multa Fidrus, Tangerang – It was business as usual Wednesday a PT Naga Parama Shoes Industry (NASA) and PT Hardaya Aneka Shoes Industry (HASI), manufacturers for American athletic appar

Jakarta Post – Thousands of workers from two shoe manufacturers rallied Monday at the Jakarta Stock Exchange building to demand Nike, an American athletic apparel company, restore contr

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Labor activists have harshly criticized Manpower and Transmigration Minister Erman Suparno, alleging he deceived the public on Indonesia's acceptance of an

Jakarta – An alliance of trade unions held a rally Thursday in front of the National Police headquarters in South Jakarta to demand police stay neutral in disputes between workers and e

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – Lawmakers have blamed mediocre coordination between the labor and foreign ministries for the increasing number of poorly protected Indonesians working abroad who

Jakarta – Hundreds of laborers with the Force Labor Alliance staged a rally at the Cakung Bonded Zone, North Jakarta, to demand the government scrap the current outsourcing and working-

Jakarta – Hundreds of employees of Hotel Indonesia and the now-defunct Hotel Inna Wisata who were laid off three years ago rallied outside the Grand Indonesia business complex in Centra

Tangerang – Some 300 workers of garment producer PT Miju went on strike Saturday, accusing the company of failing to pay their May salaries on June 5 as promised.

Multa Fidrus, Tangerang/Jakarta – More than 2,000 workers at two North Jakarta factories were fired without notice Tuesday after they demanded better salaries and benefits.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – While it grapples with the problem of large numbers of illegal migrant workers in Malaysia, Indonesia has another labor problem on its hands: 279 of its wo

Fadli, Batam – At least 2,670 workers at foreign investment company PT Nasional Garment Bintan (NGB) in Riau Islands province face layoffs after the firm decide to close, saying local p

Bekasi – Public minivan drivers in Bekasi went on strike Wednesday, leaving hundreds of commuters stranded.

Jakarta – The International Labor Organization (ILO) asked the government Wednesday to take the initiative and establish bilateral agreements with destination countries to protect the r

Jakarta – Tens of thousands of workers staged noisy rallies in major cities throughout Indonesia on Tuesday to mark International Labor Day and to voice a number of demands around welfa

M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – Labor activists on Monday accused the government of selling out Indonesian workers by signing free trade agreements with foreign countries.

Jakarta – Tens of thousands of workers in Indonesia marked May Day by taking to the streets Tuesday to demand better wages and job security, amid a heavy police presence.

[The following is a compilation of abridged translations taken from Detik.com on the May Day rallies held in Indonesia on May 1.]

John Pakage, Timika – Thousands of workers at Freeport-McMoRan's Grasberg mine in Indonesia have ended a four-day walkout over welfare that had sent copper prices to seven-month highs,

B. Nicodemus, Jakarta – I was at Abu Dhabi airport few months ago, waiting for my flight to Jakarta.

Tangerang – More than 6,500 employees from Reebok shoe producer PT Dong Joe Indonesia staged a rally at the company's Tangerang factory Monday in demand of close to RP 100 billion in un

Suryani Ika Sari, Jakarta – The All-Indonesia Organization of Workers (previously the Association of Financial Workers Union) has estimated that around 9,000 bank workers are threatened

Jakarta – Lawyers of the six convicted murderers of PT Freeport Indonesia's employees Thursday submitted appeal documents to the Supreme Court over those sentences by lower courts.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – The government admitted Wednesday that the weak enforcement of industrial relations laws has left millions of workers unprotected in thousands of companies

Markus Makur, Timika – Hundreds of job-seekers from the Amungme and Kamoro tribes staged a rally in front of the Memangkawai Mining Institute office in Mimika regency, Papua, demanding

Indrasari Tjandraningsih, Bandung – On Jan. 29, 2007, The Jakarta Post editorialized about labor and business.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – The International Labor Organization (ILO) urged the government to take a comprehensive approach to eliminating the worst forms of child labor, with school

Adisti Sukma Sawitri, Jakarta – Lila Rohila, 38, had never thought the decision she took last Idul Fitri to wear a headscarf would ever become an issue for her or her company.

Issues facing Indonesia's domestic workers abroad get attention Indonesia is failing to protect its domestic workers and leaves them vulnerable to abusive employers, Amnesty Internation

Indonesian government needs to be more serious in dealing with the matter

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – The government will cooperate with the Attorney General's Office and police to enforce a 1992 law on social security programs to provide protection for wor

M.

Jakarta – More than 200 members of the Emergency Ambulance 118 Workers Union rallied Thursday at the Hotel Indonesia traffic, demanding the city administration expedite the establishmen

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Employees of state-owned railway company PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI) threatened Wednesday to stage a national strike.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Employers will be able to breathe easier, the government can hope for more investors in the future and workers need no longer be quite so worried about bei