Herlambang Jati, Yogyakarta – Various elements of society from workers to students held an action demanding workers' welfare during a commemoration of Labor Day in front of the Yogyakarta Provincial Legislative Council (DPRD) on Friday May 1.
The protesters said that workers' welfare was still far below the standards set under the Reasonable Living Cost Index (KHL).
Before protesting at the DPRD, the protesters held a long march from the former Abu Bakar Ali Parking Park through the Malioboro shopping district. Various posters criticising the government were carried during the action with messages such as "Stop and Prevent Layoffs" and "Increase Workers' Wages", as well as other posters.
Wages far below KHL
May Resistance Alliance (A.M.E.L) public relations officer Rival Umbu Djawa revealed that they are highlighting labour and education issues at this year's May Day rally. Based on a survey, the average wage for formal workers in Yogyakarta province is around 3 million rupiah a month. Meanwhile, informal workers' wages are around 1 million rupiah.
"We also managed to establish a small research team in the market to analyse what wages should be, sufficient for KHL. A decent living wage is around 6 million rupiah", said Djawa.
MBG a problem
The education sector was also of concern to the protesters. The cost of education is considered to be increasingly high, especially with cuts to the education budget with funds diverted to the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) program.
"The education budget, which should be around 20 percent of the APBN [state budget], around 750 trillion rupiah, it turns out not all of it is allocated to education services. The largest amount is allocated to the BGN [National Nutrition Agency] at around 223 trillion rupiah", said Djawa.
Low income, less purchasing power
Djawa added that using the MBG program to overcome stunting is not that simple. They interpret stunting as a structural problem. The persistently high stunting rate is caused by a lack of people's purchasing power.
"Why is people's purchasing power not enough? This cannot be separated from the fact that the education budget is expensive, wages are far from the KHL. When the education budget is cut again, it is then allocated to the MBG, never mind stunting. People may not be able to afford to buy food, because they have to cover education costs", said Djawa.
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "May Day di Jogja, Massa Soroti Upah Buruh Jauh dari Hidup Layak".]
