Jakarta – A rally commemorating International Labour Day or May Day in the Central Java provincial capital of Semarang on May 1 was marred by chaos. Several people were also arrested by police.

Every May, the public is trapped in the romanticism of the 1998 reformasi (reform) movement – a moment that is considered as a milestone in the reform of the political and legal system after the resignation of Suharto from the New Order's reins of power.

Muslimin Emba, Makassar – On Thursday May 1, labour groups began to throng into the fly over area at the intersection of Jalan AP Pettarani and Arip Sumoharjo in Panakkukang sub-district, Makassar city, South Sulawesi. They were holding a demonstration to commemorate International Labour Day.

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.

Kartika Sari, Medan – Hundreds of workers in Medan held a peaceful action commemorating International Labour Day or May Day at the North Sumatra (Sumut) governor's office. During the action, they conveyed a number of demands, one of which was abolishing outsourcing.

Nurhalim, Banda Aceh – The commemoration of International Labour Day (May Day) 2025 has again reverberated in the Acehnese provincial capital of Banda Aceh, where hundreds of workers and journalists took to the streets to voice their aspirations.

Commemorating May Day or International Labour Day in West Java, dozens of workers ranging from factory workers to media workers along with other elements of society throughout Greater Bandung demonstrated at the Cikapayang Park in Bandung city on Thursday May 1.

Hanaa Septiana, Kukuh S. Wibowo, Surabaya – The commemoration of International Labour Day or May Day in Surabaya, East Java, on Thursday May 1 was marked by two separate actions. One of the actions was attended by the governor of East Java, Khofifah Indar Parawansa.

Jakarta – A mass action by an alliance of workers that make up the Labour Movement with the People (GEBRAK) issued a number of demands during a May Day 2025 action in front of the House of Representatives (DPR) building in Jakarta on Thursday May 1.

May Day or Labour Day for us, the organisations that are members of GEBRAK, is a day of momentum for the workers' struggle, we must always promote it. [...] There is no reason that is adequate for people who have up until now suffered bad policies and repressive treatment from the state to then become close to and unite with oppressive power.

Fika Nurul Ulya, Jessi Carina, Jakarta – Ahead of National Labour Day which falls tomorrow, House of Representatives (DPR) Deputy Speaker Sufmi Dasco Ahmad together with officials from the Presidential Palace gathered with trade union leaders during an event at the Nusantara IV Building in the parliament

Badung – Dozens of workers from various industrial sectors in Bali who are members of the Bali People's Struggle Alliance held a peaceful demonstration titled "Fight Union Busting, Demand Real Protection of Balinese Workers' Rights" at the Wantilan Hall in the Badung Government Centre (Puspem) on Wednesday morning April 30.

Solidarity greetings! The Indonesian Poor People's Union (SPRI) conveys its respectful greetings and revolutionary solidarity to all workers, farmers, fishers, urban poor, oppressed women, students, indigenous peoples and all elements of working people who will commemorate International Labour Day (

Nawir Arsyad Akbar, Jakarta – As many as 95 percent of Indonesian workers are claimed to support President Prabowo Subianto's policies on International Labour Day or May Day on May 1.

[The following is a translation of a statement by the Labour Movement with the People (GEBRAK) welcoming International Labour Day, National Education Day, Marsinah Day and 27 Years of Reformasi 1998.]

The issue of granting the title of national hero to former president Suharto is no longer just an empty discourse – it is a reflection of how power continues to reproduce itself in order to whitewash the dark history of the nation.

Responding a statement by of the Minister of State Secretary (Mensesneg) and concurrently the presidential spokesperson Prasetyo Hadi, who did not question the proposal to name former president Suharto a national hero, Amnesty International

Jakarta – Civil society activists have provided a number of notes in response to a desire expressed by President Prabowo Subianto to meet with figures or initiators of the hashtags Dark Indonesia (#IndonesiaGelap) and Just Run Away (

Ardito Ramadhan, Jakarta – The Civil Society Coalition for the Reform of the Criminal Procedure Code (KUHAP) believes that the draft revisions to the KUHAP prepared by the House of Representatives (DPR) Commission III actually creates space for the abuse of power by law enforcement officials.

Secretly and in violation of internal procedures, the House of Representatives (DPR) passed the revisions to Law Number 34/2004 on the Indonesian National Armed Forces (UU TNI). The revisions to the TNI Law will give more power to the military.