"The current proper living standard only has 46 items to be counted as the minimum wage reference."Jakarta (ANTARA News) - A total of 100,000 workers participated in a rally covering several landmarks in Jakarta to commemorate World Labour Day, also known as May Day.
"The number of workers join the rally in Jakarta is estimated to be at least 100,000 people, consisting of (members of the) Indonesian Worker Union Confederation and ten other labour federations," said the president of the Indonesian Worker Union Confederation Said Iqbal here on Tuesday.
The workers participating in the rally have come from the Greater Jakarta region, consisting of Jakarta, Bogor, Tangerang and Bekasi. The rally is planned to start at 10:00 am, he noted.
"We start the rally from the Hotel Indonesia roundabout, proceed towards the National Palace at 13:00 pm, then walk to the Gelora Bung Karno to see the Slank musical group at around 17:00 pm," Said added.
According to Said, the protesters will read out the Indonesian labour manifesto during the May Day commemorations, which acts as the umbrella of the labour movement, along with the establishment of the Indonesian Labour Workers Assembly.
The workers have three primary demands: first, they want the government to implement the Public Health Insurance programme (Jamkesmas) for all the people of Indonesia from January 1, 2014.
Second, the workers want mandatory pension payments starting July 1, 2015; and third, they want the government to revoke its low-wage policy by revising the minister`s decision no. 17 of 2005 on the Proper Living Standard.
"The current proper living standard only has 46 items to be counted as the minimum wage reference, while we would increase the figure to 122 items," Said explained.
(Uu.A050/INEKR-BSR/F001)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
Copyright © ANTARA 2012
