Yogyakarta – Social organisations that are part of the United People’s Alliance (ARB) in the Central Java city of Yogyakarta plan to hold a Street Parliament Meeting to oppose the Draft Omnibus Law on Job Creation on March 9.
The planned action, which will be joined by a number of social and student organisations, will be centered along Jl Gejayan north of the city and start at 2 pm.
ARB Yogyakarta public relations officer Kontra Tirano believes that it is time to hold an action rejecting the Omnibus Law saying that although the government claims it will be good for small- and medium-scale enterprises there has not yet being any clear or detailed socialisation of the law.
“We must take to the streets to oppose and defeat the Omnibus Law”, said Tirano in Yogyakarta on Friday March 6.
Yogyakarta provincial trade union deputy coordinator Dani Eko Wiyono said that workers will also join the action and he is convinced that if the Draft Omnibus Law is ratified it will create difficulties for workers and benefit investors.
According to Wiyono, the government’s justification for attracting more investors into Indonesia will bring no benefits whatsoever to workers. Moreover there are discussions on abolishing regional and municipal minimum wages, severance pay and social welfare for workers.
“The most appropriate move is to fight it through the voices of the ordinary people”, he said.
The Draft Omnibus Law, which has been criticised by a number of groups, has already been submitted to the House of Representatives (DPR) for deliberation.
Those who criticise the draft law say it is legally flawed, has the potential to damage the environment and is anti-worker.
A number of non-government organisations have been invited by the Presidential Staff Office to discuss the law but they have refused because they believe that this is pointless given that the draft is already in the hands of the DPR.
In addition to this, they believe that the Draft Omnibus Law on Job Creation contains many irregularities and because of this have refused to hold joint discussions at the Presidential Palace.
Four people have also been arrested and declared suspects recently after they held a protest action rejecting the Omnibus Law in Tangerang, Banten. (sut/bmw)
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was “Demo Tolak Omnibus Law Bakal Digelar di Gejayan 9 Maret”.]
