Hundreds of Thousands of Workers to Stages Spontaneous Rallies

Jakarta (Antara) - Hundreds of thousands of workers from various labor unions across Indonesia will spontaneously take to the street on October 2 to demand a 30 percent increase in minimum wages in 2015. "In Jakarta alone, around 100 thousand workers will join the rallies, while hundreds of thousands of workers will hold rallies in each region. They will spontaneously hold rallies in 120 districts and municipalities in 20 provinces across Indonesia," President of the Confederation of the Indonesian Labor Union (KSPI) Said Iqbal said here on Friday. The rallies in the capital will be held outside the Presidential Palace, the Manpower and Transmigration Ministry, the Jakarta City Hall and the House of Representatives (DPR) building. Besides demanding a 30 percent rise in minimum wages, the workers will also reject an increase in subsidized fuel prices, demand the abolition of outsourcing employment system, and urge the government to realize workers' pension funds. Said noted that the rallies outside the DPR building will serve as a "gift" for 560 new lawmakers who will be inaugurated on October 1. "We will not move if none meets us and accommodates our aspirations. The representatives of the people must realize their commitment to defend the interests of the low-income people, including workers," he said. (*) Reporting by Fiqih Arfani