Pramono Putra, Sidoarjo – Thousands of workers from various cities in East Java held a joint demonstration commemorating International Labour Day on the morning of Wednesday May 1. The action began with a convoy to the East Java governor’s office in the provincial capital of Surabaya to convey their demands at this year’s May Day.
The convoy, which was joined by more than 5,000 workers representing labour organisations across East Java, was closely guarded by police.
The workers departed from a gathering point in the Waru-Sidoarjo Berbek industrial area then headed off towards Surabaya city carrying flags, posters and banners.
According to the workers, on this year’s May Day they are demanding that East Java Governor Khofifah Indar Parawansa pay more attention to the lives and welfare of workers in his programs. The workers also demanded that the governor immediately take steps against companies that violate workers’ rights.
“We are asking the governor to sanction companies, including revoking their licenses. Because there are still many companies which don’t include workers in either the Social Security Management Agency (BPJS) Healthcare program or BPJS Labour program”, said labour representative Donny Arianto.
Arianto said that they are also calling for the abolition of widespread outsourcing systems which they say harms workers greatly because they do not obtain their rights.
The May Day commemoration proceeded in an orderly manner although the flow of traffic at the Surabaya-Sidoarjo access point became congested because of the crowds of workers in the convoy.
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was “Ribuan Buruh Se-Jatim Demonstrasi di Gedung Grahadi Surabaya”.]
