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Rallies held in major cities to oppose fuel price hike
Labor unions, students stage protests in some 20 provinces against government policy.
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eople rallied in the country’s biggest cities on Tuesday, demanding the government reverse its decision to raise subsidized fuel prices as they claimed the price hike would hurt low-income households.
In Jakarta, the protests were concentrated in front of the House of Representatives building, spearheaded by several labor organizations and the Labor Party, which was founded last year by prominent labor union leader Said Iqbal and which has registered to field candidates for the 2024 general election.
In front of hundreds of workers, Said said that labor unions would continue to hold nationwide protests until the end of the year if the government did not revoke its decision, which came amid rising food costs and with the economy still reeling from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It’s clear that the government did not consider [the impact of subsidized fuel price increases] on farmers, fishermen and workers,” he said, adding that Tuesday’s rallies also took place in around 20 other provinces.
He predicted that the price increases would hit workers disproportionately, particularly factory workers, who had not received salary increases for the past three years. He also feared that mass layoffs would follow as industrial energy prices would increase.
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo's administration said it had no choice but to cut fuel subsidies of Pertalite gasoline and Solar diesel brands on Saturday to rein in ballooning energy subsidies despite the risk of mass protests.
Subsidized fuel prices are a sensitive issue in the country and have traditionally spelled trouble for Indonesia’s presidents.
But the Jokowi administration has laid out the groundwork to soften the blow by announcing the roll out of a series of social aid packages worth Rp 24.17 trillion (US$1.62 billion), including direct cash transfers.
This, according to some political analysts, gives Jokowi a chance to recover from any potential hit to his approval ratings and maintain political stability if he manages to distribute social aid effectively and evenly. They also predicted that Jokowi would likely face minimal political resistance, particularly because lawmakers and academics tended to agree that the government had no choice but to cut fuel subsidies to protect the state budget.
Responding to a labor rally in Medan in North Sumatra on Tuesday, the province's legislative council (DPRD) said it would send a letter to Jokowi asking him to revoke the fuel price policy.
"We stand by the [protesters]," North Sumatra DPRD Speaker Baskami Ginting told The Jakarta Post.
In Pematangsiantar city, also in North Sumatra, student protesters accused the police of using excessive force during a protest on Monday. Local police promised to investigate the alleged violence.
"People, especially workers and those who receive salaries below the legal minimum wage, have suffered enough. Higher fuel prices will trouble them more," protester Rifki Pratama said.
Ahead of and after Saturday's price hike announcement, labor unions and students in several other provinces, including Jakarta, West Java, Central Java, East Java and South Sulawesi, staged smaller rallies in opposition to the increased prices of the subsidized fuels.
Some protesters reportedly burned tires to vent their frustration over the decision.
Protests also took place on Tuesday around Jakarta and in the cities of Surabaya, East Java; Makassar, South Sulawesi; Kendari, Central Sulawesi; Banda Aceh, Aceh; and Yogyakarta; among a series of demonstrations led by students and labor groups that police say could draw big crowds this week, Reuters reported.
Thousands of police were deployed across Jakarta, many guarding gas stations, fearing those could become targets of mounting anger over a price hike that unions say will hurt workers and the urban poor the most.
"Workers are really, really suffering right now," said Abdul Aris, a union official, as reported by Reuters.
"The price shouldn't have been raised," he said, vowing to keep fighting until the government gives way.
Tuesday's protests passed off peacefully, with no reports of violence or arrests, according to Reuters.
