Facebook Instagram Twitter YouTube

Massive Protests Erupt in Indonesia Against Austerity

Thursday, October 8, the third day of protests in Indonesia against a legislative reform that slashes labor rights and threatens the environment, was marked by clashes with the police. Some 300 demonstrators were arrested in the capital, where thousands of people mobilized.

Salvador Soler

October 8, 2020
Facebook Twitter Share

At a press conference on September 28, the Indonesian Trade Union Confederation (KSPI), Confederation of All Indonesian Workers’ Union (KSPSI AGN), KSPSI Yorrys, and the national welfare movement (GEKANAS) together called on the country’s parliament and central government to reject passage of the so-called “Omnibus Bill” — neoliberal reforms touted as “job creation” — when it came up for a scheduled vote on October 8. The next day, they began holding continuous protests in front of the parliament building and at the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs. On October 5, the contentious bill was passed anyway, escalating the demonstrations.

Indonesian unions have shared videos on social networks that show scenes with thousands of protesters, most wearing masks, in locations across the island of Java — including Jakarta, Purwakarta, and Semarang — singing the national anthem. According to the unions, at least 2 million workers participated in the protests (mainstream media outlets such as EFE, Reuters, and Associated Press reported that only thousands participated). Student unions said they would also be joining in. In addition, Indonesia’s largest Islamic organization, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), has also voiced opposition; its leader KH Said Aqil Siroj stated that that law would benefit only capitalists, investors, and conglomerates, and would “trample” on ordinary people. 

There were some clashes with police. In one incident, authorities deployed riot control groups that used tear gas and fire trucks as protesters tried to break through a police barrier about 750 meters from the presidential palace in Jakarta, the capital.

Join us for Left Voice Journalism School. Sign up here

Joko Widodo, Indonesia’s president, was in the state of Kalimantan on a working trip about food security in the area, which has led to accusations that he was fleeing the protests in the capital — a charge his office denied. But the president has not spoken out about the demonstrations, reported the Jakarta Post.

The large, mostly peaceful demonstrations began Tuesday on the Southeast Asian archipelago. Several unions called for a strike to demonstrate their rejection of Omnibus Bill approved on Monday by the Indonesian Parliament, which includes some 70 new laws and regulations aimed, according to the government, at creating jobs and attracting investors.

A spokesman for the National Confederation of Trade Unions (KSPN) said, “We are going to die from the coronavirus or die from the system. We don’t know how we will die. But we can still change the system. So we’re going to march until we win.”

The reform is an attack on workers’ labor rights, including the minimum wage and some unemployment benefits, and also relaxes environmental regulations. It will have a destructive impact on a region already badly damaged by floods and fires.

“The National Federation of Trade Unions (KSPN) announced on Tuesday that it had set up a special team to study the long battery of laws with the intention of going to the Constitutional Court to challenge articles that violate the Indonesian Magna Carta and attack workers’ rights,” the Jakarta Post reported on October 8.

In a speech prior to the vote, Minister of Coordination for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartart defended the reform, claiming it was necessary to “facilitate foreign investment.”

What Does the Law Say?

The reform eliminates the sectoral minimum wage in favor of new, lower minimums established by regional governors. It will reduce severance pay to a maximum of 19 months of salary, depending on the length of time a worker has been on the job — replacing the current maximum of 32 months’ pay. In addition, a new government fund will provide an additional six-month payment to the newly unemployed, subsidizing the expenses businesses would have incurred. Allowable overtime will be increased to a maximum of four hours a day and 18 hours per week. Companies will be required to give workers only one day off a week instead of two, which is detrimental to workers’ rest and leisure.

Regulations on subcontracting have also been cut back, as have restrictions on jobs migrants can take. The law also relaxes environmental standards, and companies will now be required to present environmental impact analyses only if their projects are considered high risk.

Indonesia: A Complex Archipelago

Indonesia is the world’s fourth-most populous country, with nearly 300 million inhabitants across 17,000 islands. While the population is overwhelmingly Muslim, it is a country with an ethnic, religious, and cultural diversity that is expressed in its regional divisions. It is, by Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the 16th-largest economy in the world, but lags behind other Southeast Asian countries, such as Vietnam and Thailand, in terms of foreign investment.

In that region, an atrocious level of competition is playing out as countries try to entice the gradual relocation of basic manufacturing companies from China amidst the aggressive trade war with the United States, which is seeking better competitive conditions. The Indonesian government wants to position the country as attractive for investment, but at the cost of destroying the rights of workers and the oppressed.

GDP is forecast to contract between 0.6 and 1.7 percent this year thanks to measures implemented to combat the Covid-19 pandemic. It will be the country’s first recession since the Southeast Asian financial crisis of 1997-98, and will be unloaded — as we are already seeing — on the backs of the powerful working class.

Indonesia also has had its share of bloody struggles. In 2019, combative youth waged a strong fight against a penal reform that criminalized sexual orientation and lifestyle choices.

All this is making it difficult for the Widodo government to move forward with its plans.

First published in Spanish on October 8 in La Izquierda Diario

Translated by K.S. Mehta

Facebook Twitter Share

Asia-Pacific

China’s Rise, ‘Diminished Dependency,’ and Imperialism in Times of World Disorder

In this broad-ranging interview, originally published in LINKS, Trotskyist Fraction member Esteban Mercatante discusses how recent global shifts in processes of capital accumulation have contributed to China’s rise, the new (and old) mechanisms big powers use to plunder the Global South, and its implications for anti-imperialist and working-class struggles today.

Esteban Mercatante

September 22, 2023

Strike for Wages at Chevron-Australia Could Hit 5 Percent of Global Gas Production

Chevron workers in Western Australia are escalating a strike at two of the world's largest gas facilities. They are demanding wage rises and better working conditions.

Arthur Nicola

September 14, 2023

The Roots of the Rebellion at Foxconn

Jenny Chan is a researcher and professor at the Polytechnic University of Hong Kong. She is co-author of the book Dying for an iPhone. She spoke with La Izquerda Diario about the causes of the rebellion by workers at the Foxconn plant in Zhengzhou, China.

Josefina L. Martínez

December 7, 2022
Participants in a memorial ceremony lay flowers to pay respect to a deceased 23-year-old worker in front of the SPC headquarters in Seoul, Thursday. She died in an accident at a baking factory in Pyeongtaek affiliated with SPC on Saturday.

How Workers and Socialists are Responding to a Workplace Death at One of South Korea’s Largest Food Manufacturers

Following a workplace death at SPC group, one of the largest food manufacturers in South Korea, a consumer boycott quickly gained traction. Organized workers and revolutionary socialists are playing a role in this struggle.

Samuel Karlin

November 12, 2022

MOST RECENT

All That's Left, the podcast from Left Voice.

#AllThatsLeftPod: What the Historic UAW Victory Means for the Working Class

In this episode of the podcast, we discuss the historic UAW victory, its shortcomings, and the tasks for the future.

Left Voice

December 5, 2023

The New Hollywood McCarthyism Emerging Around Palestine

Over the past week, a new Hollywood McCarthyism has emerged: multiple people in Hollywood have jobs and representation over their support of Palestine. We must denounce and fight these attacks which weaken the movement and scare supporters into silence.

Sybil Davis

December 3, 2023
A UAW sign is held next to a "Free Palestine" sign

The UAW Has Called for a Ceasefire. It’s Time for All of Labor to Stand Up.

The UAW International union has joined calls for a ceasefire and is exploring how to divest from Israel. This is a step which should inspire union activists to take up the fight to bring their union into the fight against Israel's attack on Gaza and the struggle against imperialism.

Rose Lemlich

December 2, 2023

Robert Habeck Wrote a Play Praising a Right-Wing Mass Murderer

Germany's Green vice chancellor strikes many as an idealist who has been struggling with the tough realities of government. Yet before he was a national politician, he wrote a play that opens a window into a dark soul.

Nathaniel Flakin

December 1, 2023