Jakarta – International Labour Day or May Day was commemorated in Jakarta on Thursday May 1. This year's May Day actions in Jakarta were held in two separate places, namely at the National Monument (Monas) and in front of the House of Representatives (DPR) building.
President Prabowo Subianto also attended the May Day event at Monas and delivered a speech in front of thousands of workers present. Here are the facts of the May Day actions in Jakarta based on CNN Indonesia records.
May Day held at Monas and DPR building
The Labour Movement with the People (GEBRAK) Alliance revealed the reasons they were reluctant to join the May Day action at Monas which was attended by Prabowo.
The general chairperson of the Indonesian Trade Union Congress Alliance (KASBI), which is affiliated with GEBRAK, said that it was not yet time to be intimate with the government amidst the worrying situation facing workers.
"This is the momentum of Labour Day. For us workers, this is the momentum of resistance. It is not yet time for workers to get cosy with the government" said KASBI Chairperson Unang Sunarno representing the GEBRAK Alliance in front of the DPR building on Thursday.
"Because what we are experiencing now is that the workers' situation is very bad. Long working hours, low wages, easy to be laid off, no guarantee of job security", he continued.
The May Day action in front of the DPR building was attended by a number of organisations ranging from labour unions, farmers unions, fisher unions, student organisations to women's organisations other civil society groups.
Meanwhile, the May Day action at Monas was attended by the Confederation of Indonesian Trade Unions (KSPI) and the Confederation of the All-Indonesian Trade Unions (KSPSI).
Members of the political elite were also present, including DPR Speaker Puan Maharani, DPR Deputy Speaker Sufmi Dasco Ahmad, People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Speaker Ahmad Muzani and Minister of State Secretary (Mensesneg) Prasetyo Hadi.
Prabowo's speech at Monas
President Prabowo also delivered a speech when attending the May Day action held at Monas, which was attended by a number of trade union leaders and state officials.
Prabowo promised a number of things and even claimed that he would implement several plans to improve workers' welfare.
One of them, was that Prabowo ordered the newly created National Workers Welfare Council to find ways to eliminate the outsourcing system. Prabowo then pledged that the Draft Law on the Protection of Domestic Workers (RUU PPRT) would soon be discussed by the DPR.
Government claims will fulfil May Day demands
Prasetyo Hadi claimed that the government would fulfil a number of demands put forward by the labour protesters at the Monas rally.
"We are actually working on some of the demands, one of which concerns PHK (layoffs) mitigation", said Hadi in the Monas area on Thursday.
There were six demands conveyed in the May Day action at Monas;
1. Protect workers under the planned new Labour Law
2. Prevent mass layoffs by forming a Layoff Task Force
3. Reject outsourcing
4. Realise a living wage
5. Urge the ratification of the Asset Confiscation Bill
6. Urge the ratification of the Domestic Workers Protection Bill
Police repression at DPR action
The May Day action in front of the DPR building was forcibly disbursed by police at around 5.15 pm. The forced dispersal began when some of the people in the crowd, numbering a dozen or so, began throwing things and setting fire to tyres.
CNN Indonesia has not been able to confirm whether the people who threw things and burnt tyres were actually part of yesterday's May Day rally.
Meanwhile a number of demands were conveyed by the protesters in front of the DPR building yesterday.
1. Revoke the Omnibus Law on Job Creation and its derivative regulations, fight the storm of layoffs, pass the pro-worker labour law and provide certainty and guarantees of decent work for workers;
2. Enact the RUU PPRT now, provide legal guarantees for domestic workers, eliminate partnership relationships, recognise worker status for online motorcycle drivers, taxi drivers and couriers, guarantee and protect medical and healthcare workers, fisheries and maritime workers, plantation and agricultural workers, mining and migrant workers.
3. Stop evictions in ordinary people's residential areas and lands, implement genuine agrarian reform: provide land and agricultural technology to small farmers;
4. Stop National Strategic Projects (PSN) that damage the environment, pass the Draft Law on Indigenous Peoples for the sake of the survival and welfare of indigenous peoples throughout the country;
5. Revoke the recently revised Indonesian Military (TNI) Law, reject the military entering campuses, factories and villages, reject the military from interfering in civil affairs, return the military to the barracks.
13 people arrested
The Metro Jaya Regional Police (Polda) arrested 13 people who were taking part in the May Day action in front of the DPR building yesterday. The police accused them of being anarchists who infiltrated the rally.
"The protest action in front of the parliament building was infiltrated by rioters from an anarchist group", said Metro Jaya public relations head Senior Commissioner Ade Ary Syam Indradi in a statement to journalists on Thursday.
The police claimed that there were a number of people in front of the Pulau Dua Restaurant throwing things at vehicles passing by on the toll road. Indradi emphasised that this caused damage to vehicles and endangered public safety.
"At 5.30 pm until now, 13 people have been arrested under the Senayan flyover and surrounding areas for carrying firecrackers that had the potential to be used for provocative actions", he explained.
"The 13 suspected anarchists (12 men and one woman) were arrested for being involved in anarchic actions, resisting officers' orders, and throwing stones at toll road users", he added.
- Capitalism, the oligarchy and militarism are the enemies of the working class. GEBRAK Statement – April 25, 2025
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Fakta-fakta Aksi May Day 2025 di Monas dan Depan DPR".]
