T

he government claims it has made headway in improving workers’ welfare over the past year and is confident that the rallies planned to observe International Workers’ Day on Tuesday will proceed peacefully.

Presidential spokesman Julian Aldrin Pasha claimed the government had met the demands from workers and made concrete efforts to improve their welfare.

“The government, for example, has decided to exempt workers with monthly salaries of less than Rp 2 million [US$218] from being subject to income tax. We are also working to provide 200 buses for workers
nationwide,” he said on Monday.

Since 2007, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has regularly celebrated May Day with the workers.

Manpower and Transmigration Minister Muhaimin Iskandar said that his ministry had also made efforts to address workers’ complaints.

He said the ministry was following up on a Constitutional Court ruling on outsourcing workers. “We are working on regulatory instruments as well as establishing mechanisms to closely monitor companies to ensure that they guarantee workers’ welfare,” he said.

Home Minister Gamawan Fauzi was optimistic that the May Day rallies would pass off peacefully as no issue remained that could raise the ire of workers. “Do you see any major issues concerning workers these days?” he asked.

Gamawan added that the government was mulling whether to turn International Workers’ Day into a national holiday.

Lt. Gen. Marciano Norman, the head of the National Intelligence Agency (BIN), however, warned that “invisible elements” could infiltrate the rallies.

“I have talked to representatives of workers’ unions and told them to keep a close eye on strangers in their midst. These people could be dangerous,” he said.

National Police chief Gen. Timur Pradopo said that police had stepped up security at some rally spots.

“Everyone has the right to express their aspirations but please don’t break the law,” he said.

Thousands of workers across the country have said they will stage a national strike to demand decent pay and an end to rampant violations of their rights.

Under the coordination of several labor unions, workers are expected to take to the streets in Jakarta, Surabaya, Medan, Makassar and other industrial areas nationwide.

Some 40,000 workers from Greater Jakarta will stage a mass rally and march from the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle to the Presidential Palace and back to the House of Representatives’ building in Central Jakarta.

In Semarang, Central Java, about 2,000 workers are expected to join the May Day rally. Central Java Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Djihartono said the police had readied 700 officers and five water cannons.

Around 120 workers dismissed from state aircraft manufacturer PT Dirgantara Indonesia (DI) had begun their journey by motorbike from Bandung, West Java, to join the May Day rally in Jakarta.

In Medan, North Sumatra, workers have announced they plan to occupy Polonia International Airport.

“Thousands of workers will temporarily shut down the airport to force the businesspeople using the airport to pay attention to our demands,” Medan’s Legal Aid Foundation director, Muslim Muis, said.

Ainur Rohmah, Yuli Tri Suwarni, Arya Dipa, Apriadi Gunawan and Wahyoe Boediwardhana contributed to this story from Semarang, Bandung, Medan and Malang