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mong the workers who voiced their demands for improved labor conditions during May Day rallies across the country, those employed by outsourcing companies were screaming the loudest.

With increasing numbers of workers being hired through outsourcing companies, concerns for the mistreatment and vulnerability of the labor market is growing.

"Of course I would prefer to be a proper employee but nowadays it is hard to find companies who actually hire someone directly without using any outsourcing services," said Isnani, who works as a junior analyst at a branch of Standard Chartered Bank.

According to Isnani, he first applied to the bank, but Standard Chartered Bank directed him to an outsourcing company, who has been responsible for his employment affairs since.

"I have insurance and the company treats me fairly well, but I still hope I will be promoted as an official employee one day," he said, adding his contract is renewed every six months.

Rekson Silaban, chairman of the Confederation of the Indonesian Prosperous Labor Union (KSBSI), said the government should enact strict rules to limit jobs where laborers can be drawn from outsourcing companies.

"Jobs considered part of a company's core business should not be drawn from outsourcing services," Rekson said.

He added workers from outsourcing companies were often unaware they were especially vulnerable to mistreatment and job insecurity due to their weak bargaining position and dependency on contract renewal.

Last week, Mathias Tambing, deputy chairman of the Confederation of the All-Indonesian Workers' Unions (KSPSI), said many employers bribed their way out of violations of the outsourcing system.

Edi, not his real name, who works for a cleaning service in a building in South Jakarta, told The Jakarta Post how bribery had deprived him of his basic working rights.

He explained that his company failed to provide insurance when it assigned him to clean the windows of a 15-floor building.

"One day officials from the Manpower Ministry made an impromptu inspection and asked whether we had insurance or not," Edi said.

When the window cleaners answered they had none, the inspectors forbade them from working for a week until the outsourcing company organized rightful insurance for their employees.

"I think there must've been a special arrangement between the outsourcing company and the building management that allowed us to go up there without insurance," Edi said.

Some workers do have the courage and privilege to fight the wrongdoings of outsourcing companies.

Tina, not her real name, succeeded in being hired directly by the corporation she worked for rather than through their outsourcing service.

"I had been working through an outsourcing company for three years when they started to delay my pay and demanded I hand over my certificate for them to keep as a guarantee," Tina said.

"I then resigned and applied directly to the electronic company that previously used that outsourcing service to hire me."

She added that around 15 of her colleagues joined her in the effort, and all of them were successfully hired.

However, not all outsourced workers have the same bargaining power as Tina.

Adi, not his real name, who is a salesman for the electronic giant Philips, has been working through an outsourcing company for more than three years with no sign of being hired directly by Philips.

"I am in an underprivileged position now," he said.

"If I have a problem with Phillips, I can't do anything to stand up to them because they're not the one hiring me."

Adi added he has tried several times to apply to other companies, but has discovered they all use the same outsourcing employment system as Philips.