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26 August, 2020On 25 August, thousands of Indonesian unionists staged concurrent rallies across the country, calling on the Indonesian government to drop the manpower cluster from Omnibus bill on job creation.
Indonesian trade unions have been protesting since January 2020 against the Omnibus bill. Unions are critical to the bill which aims to remove various workers’ rights and benefits, also referred to as the manpower cluster, including minimum wage, severance pay, as well as widening the scope of outsourcing activities.
IndustriALL Global Union affiliates FSPMI, SPN, KEP, CEMWU, FARKES and ISI have mobilized members to voice opposition to the controversial bill in 20 provinces of Indonesia.
On 25 August, thousands of workers joined forces in the Indonesian capital Jakarta, marching to the parliament with colourful flags and slogans, urging the government to focus on tackling mass unemployment rather than the Omnibus bill.
Said Iqbal, president of the Confederation of Indonesian Workers Unions (KSPI), says:
“We stress that the manpower cluster must be dropped; the bill should not overwrite the minimum protections guaranteed in the Manpower Act No 13 Year 2003. If the government wishes to include worker-related issues in the Omnibus, please discuss matters which are not covered by the Manpower Act, like issues relating to platform workers.
“KSPI calls on the government to concentrate its efforts to help workers who lost their jobs or were furloughed with a loss of wages during the pandemic.”
Annie Adviento, IndustriALL regional secretary says:
“IndustriALL is in solidarity with our Indonesian affiliates in the struggle against the Omnibus bill. Workers must remain united to confront the global trend of labour market flexibility.”