T

he National Police will not hesitate to arrest workers who blockade toll roads as part of expected labor union strikes, National Police chief Gen. Timur Pradopo says.

“Demonstrations and rallying to convey aspirations are allowed in a democratic country. But if the action leads to violence or the disruption of public interests, the protesters will become law offenders,” Timur said at the Presidential Office on Thursday.

“Blockading toll roads has a massive impact on the people. Thus, once again, should such action be carried out again, we will need to enforce the law,” he added.

Timur, however, reiterated that his force had always prioritized a soft approach and negotiation over sterner measures.

“All police offices down to the local levels have continued talks with representatives from labor unions. We always give suggestions on how to present aspirations without having to disrupt public interests,” he said.

Inspired by events that helped labor unions in Bekasi regency, West Java, pressure the government and the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo) on approving a new standard for minimum wages, workers from Tangerang regency, Banten, have threatened to block access to toll roads connecting the capital city with Merak Port and Soekarno-Hatta International Airport on Feb. 9.

Bekasi and Tangerang laborers account for around 70 percent of the country’s industrial workers.

Tens of thousands of Bekasi workers blockaded the Jakarta–Cikampek toll road for about eight hours last Friday, paralyzing economic activities in the area. The Friday protest erupted after the Bandung State Administrative Court in West Java ruled in favor of Apindo and ordered the provincial government to annul its decision on a 16 percent increase of minimum wages for 2012 to Rp 1,491,866 (US$168), for general workers, Rp 1,715,645 for Category I industrial workers and Rp 1,849,913 for Category II industrial workers.

Despite the large turnout on Friday, the protest ended peacefully as Apindo backed down on its demand during a negotiation brokered that day by the Manpower and Transmigration Ministry.

In line with the results of the meeting, the West Java governor signed a decree the next day revising the minimum wages for Bekasi regency, slightly lowering them to Rp 1,491,000, Rp 1,715,000 and Rp 1,849,000 for the respective categories.

The ministry brokered another round of negotiations on Wednesday, this time between Apindo and Tangerang workers, that lasted a grueling six hours. Once again, Apindo bowed down to pressure and decided to withdraw the lawsuit against the salary increases for 2012 by the Ban-ten administration, which saw a 23 percent hike from 2011 figures.

Workers, however, were not fully satisfied with the meeting due to a clause that would pardon companies financially unable to raise wages and allow them a grace period. The workers vowed to continue its plan of blockading the toll road on Feb. 9, the day when the State Administrative Court would issue its decision on a lawsuit filed by Apindo against wage increases.

Manpower and Transmigration Minister Muhaimin Iskandar asked workers to respect the results of the meeting, saying that some companies, especially small- and medium-sized firms, usually needed time to adjust their budget to wage rises set by regional administrations.

Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Rikwanto said that the police were striving to prevent demonstrations like the one in Bekasi from reoccurring.

He said that blocking toll roads would paralyze the public’s activities.

“We consider them [toll roads] vital,” he said. Rikwanto added that the police would prepare alternative routes heading to and from the airport if the workers staged another demonstration on Feb. 9.