Miftahul Huda, Yogya – Thousands of workers from various labour alliances, as well as students in the Central Java city of Yogyakarta, took to the streets to commemorate May Day or International Labour Day on Thursday May 1.
The demonstrators from various alliances first gathered at the Pal Putih Monument north of Yogyakarta city as the initial gathering point to prepare for a long-march to Jalan Abu Bakar Ali, the Malioboro shopping district and the zero kilometre point in front of the central post office.
After delivering a speech at one of the icons of the Yogyakarta city, the masses moved off from the Pal Putih Monument to the Abu Bakar Ali (ABA) Special Parking Area (TKP). At the parking area, which is currently the subject of a land dispute, the protesters again held speeches.
They then moved off to the Yogyakarta Regional House of Representatives (DPRD) office on Jalan Malioboro and continued giving speeches in front of the people's representatives’ building, where they again voicing their demands.
Joint personnel from the TNI (Indonesian Military) and Polri (Indonesian Police) could be seen standing guard along the length of the long-march route from the Pal Putih Monument to the zero kilometre point. Based on Yogyakarta police data, 1,114 joint personnel were deployed at points passed by the International Labour Day action protesters.
In a statement, Yogyakarta Indonesian Trade Union Council (MPBI) Coordinator Irsyad Ade Irawan conveyed 13 demands during the commemoration of this year's Labour Day.
Those taking part in the rally, consisting of workers, labourers, farmers, creative workers, women, youth and the ordinary people expressed their determination to fight against oppression and demand social justice.
"The commemoration of Labour Day is not an event that is happy-happy without a struggle., so this action then is the antithesis, the opposite of labour actions that are just gobak sodor [a traditional Indonesian children's game], soccer competitions and quizzes", Irawan told journalists.
Therefore, workers are demanding that President Prabowo Subianto immediately revise the Labour Law (UU Naker) in accordance with the mandate of the Constitutional Court (MK), which in November last year recommended that the law be revised within two years.
This is because the Constitutional Court also ruled in 2021 that the Omnibus Law on Job Creation (UU Cipta Kerja) was formally flawed and conditionally unconstitutional. Moreover, government has instead revised laws that are not urgent such as the TNI Law and the planned revisions to the National Police Law.
"The government has not yet discussed the (the revisions to the Labour Law), they instead revised the TNI and Polri laws [sic], we demanded that the DPR [Regional House of Representatives] and the government immediately revise the UU Naker completely and [in a] participatory [manner], in accordance with the mandate of the MK and the will of working people, not on the orders of the oligarchy", said Irawan.
The workers, according to Irawan, also demanded the immediate ratification of the Draft Law on the Protection of Domestic Workers (RUU PPRT), which according to Irawan is important because domestic workers have been marginalised and exploited without legal protection.
"We demand the immediate enactment of the RUU PPRT as a form of justice for millions of workers, the majority being women, who have been marginalised", he said.
In the midst of rampant corruption cases in Indonesia, workers also demanded the ratification of the Asset Forfiture Bill. Irawan emphasised that corruptors and those who loot the country's wealth must be punished, and their assets confiscated for the ordinary people.
The Yogyakarta MPBI is pushing for the ratification of the Asset Forfeiture Bill as a legal weapon to exterminate corruption crimes. "It must be immediately enacted for the deprivation of the assets of corruptors. If the law is passed, the assets of the corruptors can be confiscated for all of the people", he said.
Irawan said that an online transportation law also needs to be ratified immediately. Such a law is important to protect online motorcycle taxi (ojol), online transportation and application based workers because currently they are not partners but workers or labourers who generate profits for tech companies.
"We cannot allow application companies to perpetuate the illusion of a partnership for the labour and employer working relationships, therefore an online transportation law is very necessary", he said.
Irawan added that workers in Yogyakarta also demanded a 50 percent wage rise because workers' wages in the city are very low. A minimum increase of 50 percent is needed to compensate for the working household deficit, strengthen purchasing power and ensure a dignified livelihood.
On the other hand, the Yogyakarta provincial government is also carrying out evictions for large projects such as the Yogyakarta Axis of Philosophy (Sumbu Filosofi) which was designated as a world cultural heritage by UNESCO in September 2023.
In order to satisfy UNESCO, the Yogyakarta government is actually displacing the little people at the ABA TKP, the Lempuyangan train station and the Malioboro Terrace that is used by street vendors. "We are asking for a more inclusive (Jogja) development", he said.
Separately, Yogyakarta Municipal Police Chief Senior Commissioner Aditya Surya Dharma revealed in a statement that as many as 1,114 joint personnel were deployed at points passed by the Labour Day protesters. "Yes, we spread personnel at several points at the monument and along the length of Malioboro", he said.
In addition to this, the police also redirected traffic because the Malioboro area was used for the commemoration of Labour Day. Dharma appealed to the public to avoid the streets that the Labour Day participants will pass through.
Dharma also asked the demonstrators to maintain order during the Labour Day commemoration. "The potential for chaos, we hope it does not happen. Yesterday it was coordinated, they were committed to maintaining order and not to be infiltrated by other elements", he added. (hda)
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Peringatan May Day di Yogya, Ini 13 Tuntutan Buruh".]
Source: https://jogja.tribunnews.com/2025/05/01/peringatan-may-day-di-yogya-ini-13-tuntutan-buruh
