Jakarta – Hundreds of workers held a demonstration in front of the House of Representatives (DPR) building in Jakarta on Tuesday in the context of commemorating International Women's Day (IWD) in which they demanded that the government revoke the Job Creation Law.
By 10.20 am, hundreds of people had already gathered in front of the DPR building and had begun giving speeches. The action began with the singing of the Indonesian national anthem, Indonesia Raya.
The workers could be seen wearing masks, carrying hand sanitizer and despite the dense crowd attempting to maintain social distancing.
From the command vehicle, the workers were led in a joint singing of the Labour Party march.
The workers then articulated their demands in relation to the Omnibus Law on Job Creation and its various derivative regulations which they say have only made life more difficult for the working class.
"The principle demand is of course the abolition of the Jobs Law and its derivatives, because it does not side with workers", said Cross-Factory Labour Federation (FBLP) General Chairperson Jumisih during a break in the action on Tuesday March 8.
"Our position is that as women we are turned into objects by capitalism and by a state which is negligent", she said.
During the action, women workers from various trade unions also demanded that the government realise social protections which are in line with the real needs of women workers.
Scores of police officers meanwhile could be seen providing security near the action. The flow of traffic appeared to be smooth and police were not yet redirecting traffic in the vicinity of the rally.
Following a judicial review In November last year, the Constitutional Court ruled that the Jobs Law was conditionally unconstitutional and ordered the government to make revisions to the law within two years.
The court also ordered a postponement of all policies based on the law which are strategic or have a wide impact and an end to the issuance of new implementary regulations based on the Jobs Law. (lna/arh)
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Jadi Objek Kapitalisme, Buruh Perempuan Tuntut Cabut UU Cipta Kerja".]
