Jakarta – Thousands of workers from Jakarta and surrounding areas demonstrated demanding welfare improvements on Thursday October 17. The action created traffic jams between Jl. Jenderal Sudirman, Jl Thamrin, the Indonesia traffic circle and in the vicinity of the State Palace. Similar protest were held in West and East Java.

Sherr Rinn – Between 2010-12 there was an awakening of the Indonesian labour movement that can be seen in the writings of people such as Danial Indrakusuma, Rahmat, Tarikh, Hidayah and Rekomendasi.

Jakarta – Labour observer Professor Dr. Payaman Simanjuntak has warned that a number of trade unions in Indonesia are being provoked by international trade unions, primarily from European countries and the United States, to challenge employers and the government by means of strikes.

Bagus Kurniawan, Yogyakarta – Hundreds of workers and students from a number of different organisations in the Central Java city of Yogyakarta held an action commemorating May Day today. A regional house member was greeted with shouts and boos.

[The following is a joint statement by the Yogyakarta Working People’s Association-Political Organisation Congress (KPO-PRP), the Politics of the People (PR) and the People’s Liberation Party (PPR).]

Ronna Nirmala/Ratna Nuraini – Unidentified individuals have attacked at least 10 labour coordination posts. Workers wearing organisational identification have been assaulted and their uniforms stripped off.

Jakarta – Workers from the Joint Labour Secretariat (Sekber Buruh) have agreed to hold a national strike on October 3. They are demanding the abolition of outsourcing and contract labour systems, which they insist harms the working class.

Today, May 1, coinciding with the commemoration of International Labour Day, the Greater Jakarta Joint Labour Secretariat (Sekber Buruh) again took to the streets. This was done as a protest and as our responsibility to convince the majority of people that this beloved country is still living in misery.

Adan Bakar, Lampung – A May Day action in the South Sumatra city of Lampung ended in chaos on Tuesday after scores of protesters were involved in a clash with public order agency officers (Satpol PP). As a result one student was injured.

Baban Gandapurnama, Bandung – Thousands of workers and other groups, which took to the streets to commemorate International Labour Day or May Day at the Gedung Sate governor’s office in the West Java Provincial capital of Bandung, voiced almost identical demands.

Angling Adhitya Purbaya, Semarang – Commemorating May Day, thousands of workers from the Workers Challenge Movement (Gerbang) held a protest action at the Central Java governors’ office on Jl. Pahlawan in the Central Java provincial capital of Semarang.

Jakarta – As many as 100,000 workers from an alliance of trade unions held May Day action in front of the State Palace in Central Jakarta on Tuesday May 1 demanding welfare for the working class.

Taufan Mustafa, Banda Aceh – A demonstration commemorating International Labour Day in the Achenese provincial capital of Banda Aceh on Tuesday May 1 began with a convoy from the Raya Baiturrahman Mosque to the Aceh governor’s office.

Bagus Kurniawan, Yogyakarta – Thousands of students and workers in the Central Java city of Yogyakarta commemorated International Labour Day or May Day on Tuesday May 1.

Although during his 2009 election campaign President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono pledged to uphold human rights, the reality over the two years of his administration indicates a different reality. Human rights violations continue to occur and are disregard by the state.

Laurencius Simanjuntak, Jakarta – Even though its occupants are in recess, the House of Representatives (DPR) building in Central Jakarta was the target of around 150 protesters commemorating Labour Day.

Suci Dian Firani, Jakarta – In addition to demonstrating at the State Palace and House of Representatives (DPR) building, hundreds of workers also commemorated May Day by descending on the Department of Labour and Transmigration (Kemenakertrans) offices demanding welfare improvements.

Dira Derby, Jakarta – A clash broke out between workers and police at the rear entrance to the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport on Sunday when police refused to allow protesting from the Indonesian People’s Opposition Front (FORI) from entering the airport.

Solo – Commemorating International Labour Day on May 1, two protest actions were held by workers and students in the Central City of Solo on Sunday.

Bagus Kurniawan, Yogyakarta – Thousands of workers and students from a variety of organisations in the Central Java city of Yogyakarta commemorated International Labour Day or May Day today demanding wage increases and social welfare.