Jakarta – Protesters from labour organisations will hold follow up demonstrations centred on the State Palace in Central Jakarta on November 10 to protest last month's increase in fuel prices.
This plan was conveyed personally by Confederation of Indonesian Trade Unions (KSPI) President Said Iqbal during a protest action at the Horse Statue in Central Jakarta on Wednesday October 12. "This action will be continued on November 10", he said.
Iqbal claimed that the number of protesters that would take part in the follow up action would be in the hundreds of thousands. Half of the factories in Jakarta and the satellite cities of Cikarang and Tangerang, Banten province and in West Java would be closed for the workers to attend the action in Jakarta.
Iqbal said that the workers would perhaps take overdue leave days, alternative work days or obtain dispensation. And they would not just come from labour alliances, with Iqbal saying the follow up demonstrations would also bring in student groups.
"On November 10 it will be centred at the [State] Palace, under the plan perhaps hundreds of thousands, moreover we will join up with student groups", he explained.
At today's action they brought six demands, namely opposing the fuel price hike, opposing the Omnibus Law on Job Creation and calling for a 2023 municipal and provincial minimum wage increase of 13 percent.
They also opposed massive layoffs as a consequence of the threat of global recession next year, called for agrarian reform, land for farmers and called for the ratification of the Draft Law on Domestic Workers.
Iqbal asserted that workers would also hold a national scale strike if their demands are not heard.
"And if [the November 10 demonstrations] are also not heard, in mid-December 2022 [we'll] stop production. Three to five million of our workers will hold a national strike", he asserted. (pop/tsa)
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Said Iqbal: Buruh Bakal Gelar Demo Lanjutan 10 November ke Istana".]
