Juli Rambe, Medan – Scores of people from the North Sumatra Labour Party along with several other groups held an action to commemorate International Labour Day (May Day) in front of the North Sumatra governor's office on Jalan Diponegoro in Medan on Friday May 1.
The demonstration was joined by a number of different organisations, including the online motorcycle taxi (ojek) community, students and other civil society groups.
They voiced a number of demands focused on labour issues, workers' welfare and agrarian issues in North Sumatra.
North Sumatra Labour Party Executive Committee (Exco) Chairperson Willy Agus Utomo emphasised in a speech that the action was a form of pressure on the government to pay more serious attention to the plight of workers.
"We take to the streets with the momentum of this May Day to demand justice for workers. There are many issues that have yet to be resolved, both at the national and regional level", said Utomo.
At the national level, the protesters urged the government to immediately pass a new Labour Law that sides with workers in accordance with a Constitutional Court's ruling last year mandating an overhaul of the country's labour laws.
In addition, they firmly rejected and demanded the revocation of the Government Regulation in Lieu of Law (Perppu) on the Omnibus Law on Job Creation (UU Cipta Kerja).
"The Perppu Cipta Karja must be revoked because it does not side with workers. We want regulations that truly protect workers' rights, not weaken workers' position", he asserted.
At the regional level meanwhile, the protesters urged North Sumatra governor Bobby Nasution to meet with their representatives immediately. They set a deadline of one week after today's action.
"We ask the governor to meet with us in person, no later than one week. If there is no good faith, we will continue with follow up actions every Monday until these demands are met", said Utomo.
In addition to this, the protesters also highlighted the need for adequate and affordable housing for workers. They asked the North Sumatra provincial government to introduce a housing subsidy program for workers.
The issue of mass layoffs (PHK) was also a major concern of the demonstration. The protesters rejected the wave of mass layoffs which are said to have reached tens of thousands of cases, both nationally and in North Sumatra.
"If PHK are unavoidable, the government must be present to protect workers' rights and guarantee their livelihoods after losing their jobs", they said.
Furthermore, the protesters also highlighted various cases of labour violations in the plantation sector in North Sumatra, including alleged slavery and labour exploitation. They called on the government to take immediate and firm action in law enforcement.
In the agrarian sector, the demonstrators urged the local government to pay more attention to the plight of farmers, especially those who do not own land or whose land is affected by conflicts with land mafias or developers.
"Farmers also need attention. Many are landless or have had their land disturbed. We ask the government to provide legal certainty and distribute land certificates to support food sovereignty", they added.
During the action, representatives of the protesters were able to communicate with the North Sumatra provincial government. However, they claimed to have not received a concrete response to their demands.
"Earlier, only representatives met with us, but no decision was made. They only promised to convey these demands to the governor and provided contact information to follow up on the meeting schedule", said Otomo.
The protesters emphasised that this would not be the last action and vowed to continue demonstrating if the government does not immediately respond to their demands.
The demonstration was held under the guard of security forces and proceeded in an orderly manner until its conclusion. (san/ram)
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "May Day di Medan: Buruh Desak UU Ketenagakerjaan Baru dan Perlindungan Pekerja".]
