YAKARTA – Police arrested many protesters and used water and fuel cannons to disperse crowds as thousands of people continued to demonstrate in Indonesia for the time being on Wednesday (October 7) opposing a new labor law.
The new law, passed in Parliament on Monday, was introduced as mandatory to attract foreign investment and create jobs to reverse a pandemic economy.
New legal corporations will keep staff under contract indefinitely, but for the first time they will provide for government-funded task security insurance.
Critics say this discourages formal recruitment and weakens workers’ rights. The law has been criticized for cutting environmental protections.
On-the-fly officers have been fighting protesters since Tuesday, basically on Java’s most populous island, home to many shopping malls.
In Jakarta, police spokesman Colonel Yusri Yunus said more than two hundred protesters were arrested Wednesday for making plans to engage in illegal acts.
Local media reported that academics burned tires and threw stones at police officers.
Meanwhile, clashes in Bandung escalated, with police water cannons and ripping fuel to repel protesters seeking to break into the local parliament building.
In the center of Samarinda, capital of East Kalimantan Province, several hundred took to the streets on Wednesday morning, carrying flags and banners that said “violating the law on the creation of tasks”.
Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita called on employers to hold “intense dialogues” with union leaders to remind them of the threat of Covid-19 spreading among giant crowds of protesters, which in turn can lead to new groups.
It is also under pressure that the commercial sector deserves to operate frequently at optimal performance, especially as the country strives for an economic recovery after the Covid-19 coup.
“Employers and painters want to advertise synergy and hard paints are increasingly wanted for the trust of investors and customers,” Agus said in a circular sent to companies.
The minister in coordination of maritime affairs and investments, Luhut Pandjaitan, said on TVOne on Tuesday night that the new labor law would benefit the entire Indonesian workforce, as it would attract new foreign investment and provide jobs for the unemployed.
The government said incorrect information on the main points of the new law had fueled anger and needed to be clarified.
The economic depression caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, according to initial estimates, eliminated more than 3. 7 million jobs in Indonesia, bringing the estimated total number of unemployed to 10. 6 million, or only about 8% of the country’s 133 million workers.
“No government would need to disadvantage its own people. I appeal to all trade unions in the industry . . . Please use your heart. During this pandemic, (street protests) can claim lives . . . and jeopardize the operations of corporations that pay workers “wages, ” suggested Mr. Luhut.
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