They rejected the low-wage policy and called for the revocation of the Presidential Instruction No. 9/2013, which they believe is not conducive to the well-being of the laborers and workers.
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Confederation of All Indonesian Labor Unions (KSPSI) conveyed nine demands to the government and businessmen during a rally staged by thousands of workers in front of the Merdeka Palace, here on Friday.

KSPSI, along with other labor unions, such as FARKES, FSPTSK, FSPLEM, FSPKEP, FSPNIBA, FSPRTMM, FSPPPMI, FSPPP, and FSPTD, submitted the demands on the occasion of International Labor Day or May Day celebrations, which is held annually on May 1.

They rejected the low-wage policy and called for the revocation of the Presidential Instruction No. 9/2013, which they believe is not conducive to the well-being of the laborers and workers.

The workers also demanded that outsourcing contracts should be annulled, in line with the Manpower and Transmigration Ministrys Decree No. 19/2012.

The implementation of the health insurance scheme under the BPJS program should also be improved, the Confederation demanded.

The workers also urged the government to lower the prices of basic goods, such as rice, and to improve the welfare of workers by providing low-cost houses and hospitals.

Meanwhile, on May 1, thousands of laborers from different organizations also congregated in the Hotel Indonesia (HI) Square to stage a demonstration in front of the Merdeka Palace, Central Jakarta, to mark Labor Day.

Some of the organizations that gathered in the HI Square were the Konfederasi Serikat Pekerja Indonesia or KSPI, the Gerakan Serikat Buruh Indonesia or GSBI, the Federasi Serikat Pekerja Metal Indonesia or GSPMI, and other labor organizations.

The President of the KSPI Said Iqbal stated that thousands of honorary teachers also joined the demonstration in an effort to urge the government to improve their well-being.

According to Iqbal, the laborers have ten petitions to put forth on International Labor Day or May Day.

The ten petitions demanded by the laborers include a 30 percent hike in salary by 2015 and welfare components revision of 84 items. The laborers also denied the minimum salary postponement and urged the government to implement pension assurance for the laborers by July 2015.

In addition, the laborers asked the Indonesian leaders to implement the peoples health assurance and replace the INA-CBG tariffs with a fee-for-service system. They also urged the government to audit the Social Security Agency for the health and employment sectors.

The laborers have also asked the government to put an end to the outsourcing system, particularly in state enterprises and make the outsourced workers permanent. The laborers demanded that the parliament ratify the housemaid law and revise the migrant worker protection law no. 39/2004.(*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
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