About a thousand workers staged a rally Monday in front of the North Sumatra legislative council building in Medan demanding the government revoke a recent joint ministerial decree allowing companies to determine minimum wages.
The laborers, grouped under the United Laborers Movement to Fight Slavery (Gebrak), said the decree took into account only the interests of businessmen.
"The government should not concede to the businessmen's requirements. We do reject the decree, as it harms laborers and limits the worker wages," said Minggu Saragih, coordinator of the Independent Laborers Association of Indonesia, one of the organizations under Gebrak.
Minggu listed a number of alternative ways to support businesses, including reducing fuel prices and eliminating large bribes businesses are forced to pay.
"The world fuel prices have decreased to US$49 per barrel. Therefore, we demand the government cut fuel prices by 40 percent within a month or we will conduct massive rallies with more participants. Laborers are hungry and discriminated against, we will keep protesting against the government's decision," Minggu said.
The demonstrators also demanded the North Sumatra governor to review the 2009 regional monthly minimum wage (UMK), which has been increased to Rp 905,000 (about US$70) from Rp 870,000.
"We demand the businessmen increase the UMK to Rp 2 million per month. We also urge the governor, who was directly elected, to fulfill his promises to the people," Minggu added.
Gindo Nadapdap, director executive of the Pelita Sejahtera organization, urged the North Sumatra administration to prevent a mass lay-off that analysts have forecast will hit Indonesia as a result of the U.S.-led financial crisis.
Gindo said a mass lay-off would be against workers' rights.
"We have heard that about a thousand jobs in the north are under threat. We expect businessmen will replace them with contracted workers to avoid fulfilling the permanent workers' rights,"
"That's why we urged the government to drop the out-sourcing recruitment system," he added.
North Sumatra council member Harman Manurung said he supported the workers and promised to deliver their demands to the government.
Head of the North Sumatra Transmigration and Manpower Agency Rapotan Tambunan said government regulations complicated the matter.
"Principally, we support the workers," Rapotan said, adding that there had so far been no workers laid off in the region as a result of the financial crisis.
"There have been one or two lay-offs, but they were not caused by the financial crisis," he added.
Rapotan refused to comment about the out-sourcing system. He said he guaranteed that any worker who was fired would receive their due compensation.
However, he said it was unlikely the workers' demand for the government to increase the 2009 UMK would be met as the decree had already been issued by the governor.
"I do hope the workers understand the companies' condition and I do hope that they adopt a sense of belonging," he added.
