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Police up security for May Day
The National Police has called for calm and order during the celebration of May Day, which is taking place on Friday
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he National Police has called for calm and order during the celebration of May Day, which is taking place on Friday.
National Police chief Gen. Badrodin Haiti has personally spoken with leaders of nine labor associations and urged them to stage a peaceful demonstration on Friday and not to disrupt people's daily activities.
'The associations had promised that they would not block the roads or conduct any sweeping [of employees still working on the holiday]. If they comply then the police force will promise to safeguard their celebrations,' National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Agus Rianto said on Wednesday.
Agus said that although Badrodin had given no instructions on how many police officers would be deployed nationwide, the Jakarta Police would deploy up to 18,000 officers the secure the Greater Jakarta area during the May Day celebrations.
In West Java, the local police are expected to deploy 14,000 of their own.
Security will also be tight in the capital city of Central Java, Semarang, where President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo is slated to join the May Day celebrations.
'I have also heard that the President plans to open a workers' celebration in Semarang on Friday,' he said.
Workers' associations have annually used May Day celebrations to demand higher wages and the fulfillment of basic needs, which many feel have been neglected by business owners.
Then president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono declared in 2013 that May 1 ' International Workers' Day ' would be a national labor day based on requests from institutions and laborers.
In 2013, only Indonesia and Brunei Darussalam had yet to officially declare International Workers' Day as a public holiday.
Meanwhile, in anticipation of May Day, several unions have announced plans for the launch of a workers' political party, which would be unveiled on Friday.
Spokesman of the Preparatory Committee of the All-Indonesia United Workers Confederation (KP-KPBI), Ilham Syah, said that the party would be the merger of several labor unions.
'The party will consist of confederations, federations, labor unions and other elements of the people,' he said, as quoted by Antara news agency.
He said that thus far there had not yet been a party that defended workers' rights and the time was ripe for such party.
However, several labor unions remained unconvinced about the plan.
Sunarti, chairwoman of the Indonesian Prosperity Trade Union (SBSI), said that there were no financial means to establish such a party.
'If the party grows large where will our fees come from? I don't want to block my fellow workers' aspirations for it [establishing a party], but I have to remind them that there will be many obstacles,' she said.
Sunarti said that the workers' associations must not rush into establishing the party and must thoroughly think it through.
'We have to prepare ourselves first. We can't criticize the current President and his administration when it turns out we will become just like them,' she said.
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'I have also heard that the President plans to open a workers' celebration in Semarang on Friday.'
