T

housands of blue-collar workers across the nation began on Wednesday a massive strike they said would last for weeks should the government fail to grant their demands: ending outsourcing practices and cheap labor policies, and providing greater access to health care.

The rallies passed off peacefully in most areas, though there were reports of labor unions conducting combings of factories, including in Tangerang where protesters pelted rocks at a security guard post at a factory belonging to PT LG Indonesia. The protesters were angry about the company’s alleged refusal to allow all its employees to skip work, permitting only 200 of them to join the protest.

Activities on more than 60 industrial estates in Riau Islands and West Java were suspended when around a million workers in Batam, Bekasi and Cikarang left their workplaces and took part in the strike.

Johannes Kennedy Aritonang, who chairs the Riau Island chapter of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), said investors lost more than US$10 million from the work suspension across more than 20 industrial estates in Batam.

The labor unrest manifested amid global labor-intensive manufacturers looking to invest in Indonesia, whose labor is cheaper than other countries, including Thailand and Vietnam. Foxconn Technology Group, the world’s largest electronics manufacturer, recently announced that it would spend up to $10 billion over the next five years to set up manufacturing centers in the country.

The rallies did not trigger massive congestion in Jakarta as most workers decided to stage their protests in industrial areas. Several major thoroughfares in the capital were virtually empty as many motorists, too, decided to avoid the roads, fearing the protests would cause gridlock.

Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Rikwanto said most of the estimated 20,000 workers who joined the rallies were concentrated near their workplaces, such as Gambir in Central Jakarta, and Pulo Gadung, Cakung and Pasar Rebo in East Jakarta. In Bekasi, thousands of workers staged rallies at the MM2100
Industrial Area.

The strike was organized by the Indonesian Workers Assembly (MPBI) and the Indonesian Metal Workers Federation (FSPMI), who initially claimed that some 500,000 workers would participate in the protest.

“We will continue the national strike for up to one week. If there is still no response [from the government], we will continue the rallies for a month,” said the FSPMI’s Saiful Bahri, one of the strike coordinators.

Chairman of the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo), Sofjan Wanandi, questioned the authorities’ failure to prevent workers from conducting sweeps, claiming he was told that the majority of workers in industrial areas wanted to keep working.

“Many investors have reported on the loss of millions of working hours and today I received a number of international calls questioning the investment climate and legal certainty in the country,” he said.

Chairman of the Confederation of Indonesian Workers Union (KSPI), Said Iqbal, however, accused employers of deploying armed security personnel to prevent workers from joining the strike.

“Most workers in North Sumatra, West Java, Banten, Central and East Java and South Sulawesi are not taking part in the strike because they are scared,” he said.

The Jakarta Police readied 10,000 officers from police precincts and Mobile Brigade (Brimob) units and 5,000 military personnel to safeguard industrial areas in Bekasi, Depok, Jakarta and Tangerang, and to secure vital buildings and public facilities including toll roads during the strike. More than 2,000 officers were deployed to guard the Presidential Palace and the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle.

Manpower and Transmigration Minister Muhaimin Iskandar has vowed to facilitate tripartite dialogues to seek win-win solutions to the crucial labor issues.

He said he would end the abuses of the outsourcing system and the cheap labor policy in accordance with the law so that the country would be a better place for both the nation’s workforce and foreign investors.

“Outsourcing will be restored to its initial concept as stipulated in the law, and I will facilitate dialogues with employers and labor unions regarding a fair and decent wage,” he said. (aml/fzm)