Unions vow mass protests if Jokowi signs new jobs law

Activists in Bandung protesting against the Indonesian government's controversial new jobs measures last Tuesday. PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Indonesian trade union members protesting against the government's labour reforms in Jakarta last Thursday. PHOTO: REUTERS

JAKARTA • Indonesia's workers will stage further mass protests across the country if President Joko Widodo signs new jobs measures into law next week, the head of the main labour group said yesterday.

"It is the exploitation of labour that we're against," said the head of the Confederation of Indonesian Trade Unions, Mr Said Iqbal. "We are ready for dialogue, even ready for a debate if necessary in an open, public hearing."

The flagship jobs legislation, a revision of more than 70 existing laws that was passed by Parliament on Oct 5, is designed to remove longstanding impediments to doing business by cutting red tape, easing restrictions on foreign investment and boosting labour market competitiveness.

The government says it will lead to widespread employment generation.

But trade unions, student groups, academics and civil society groups say the legislation harms protection for workers, including those on a minimum wage, severance pay and maternity benefits, and weakens environmental protection.

Hundreds of thousands of Indonesians have hit the streets across the archipelago in recent weeks, culminating in sporadic violence and thousands of arrests, as they protested against the measures.

If the President, widely known as Jokowi, signs the measures into law, as expected, on Wednesday, labour unions will stage "massive national" protests next Sunday, centred on the State Palace and Constitutional Court in the capital Jakarta, Mr Iqbal told a virtual news conference.

Tens of thousands would be expected to gather in Jakarta and hundred of thousands more across the country, he said. Spokesmen for Mr Joko's office, the Jakarta police and Indonesia's economic ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Labour unions say they plan to challenge the constitutionality of the legislation they claim was hurried into law under opaque circumstances.

Said Mr Iqbal: "We will (focus) our protests on the State Palace and the Constitutional Court building, and at the same time, submit a petition for a judicial review."

The unions will continue "our protests until we win and the Constitutional Court issues its ruling", he added.

REUTERS, THE JAKARTA POST/ASIA NEWS NETWORK

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Sunday Times on October 25, 2020, with the headline Unions vow mass protests if Jokowi signs new jobs law. Subscribe