Jakarta – Hundreds of workers and students from the Labour Movement with the People (Gebrak) began moving off from the House of Representatives (DPR) parliamentary complex in Jakarta to the offices of the Ministry of Education and Culture on Tuesday November 17.
The workers and students marched to the Education Ministry to hold a follow up action demanding the cancelation of the recently enacted Omnibus Law on Job Creation and at the same time to commemorate International Students Day which coincides with Tuesday's action.
The workers and students began leaving the DPR complex at around 1.30 pm after holding a symbolic action in which they threw coins on the ground in front of the parliamentary complex front gates.
One of the speakers on the command vehicle said that the coin throwing action represented their disappointment with the DPR which has prioritised the interests of investors.
The long-march – which was led by two command vehicles – was joined by hundreds of protesters from labour and student groups who marched together in a line. They will march approximately 6 kilometres from the DPR to the Education Ministry.
In addition to demanding the cancelation of Law Number 11/2020 on Job Creation through a government regulation in lieu of law (Perppu), the workers also made three other demands.
Coinciding with International Students Day, the workers and students demanded that the government provide free education during the Covid-19 pandemic, an increase in the 2021 minimum wage and an end to repression against the ordinary people.
"At today's action we are not demanding a judicial review [of the Omnibus Law] but we are urging the government to issue a Perppu [to cancel a] law which from the beginning was not wanted by the people", Indonesian Trade Union Congress Alliance Confederation (KASBI) Chairperson Nining Elitos told journalists at the site of the protest. (thr/pmg)
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Massa Aksi Hari Pelajar Internasional Bergerak ke Kemendikbud".]
