Iman Herdiana, Bandung – Hundreds of students and workers from the People’s Struggle Front (FPR) held a protest action in front of the West Java provincial government offices in Bandung today to commemorate International Labour Day.

The protest action started at around 10am with demonstrators from trade unions and student organisations from throughout Bandung giving speeches demanding welfare improvements for farm and plantation labourers, factory workers, the unemployed and students.

“Today is a momentum for farm and plantation labourers, factory workers, students, who are still in poverty. Let us demand the right to a decent life, which to this day the government has never provided”, said one of the speakers.

“We have land, our land is stolen. We work hard and are wages are cut. Our young people have no employment”, said the students and workers as they sung songs of labour struggle.

Action coordinator Hechtor Situmorang from the Indonesian National Students Movement (GMNI) said that there is currently no National Social Security Program (SJSN), but that this could be applied if the Social Insurance Management Agency (BPJS) had a legal umbrella.

“We demand that the House of Representatives ratify the law regulating the BPJS. Because if the BPJS law is ratified, it would no just be workers that benefit but there would be accident insurance and healthcare for the people in general”, said Situmorang. (abe)

Source: Mahasiswa & Buruh Bersatu Unjuk Rasa di Bandung – Okezone. Minggu, 1 Mei 2011

 [Abridged translation by James Balowski.]