Students, Common People to Join Nationwide Strike

Jakarta (Antara) - Students and the common people will join a nationwide strike organized by three confederations of labor unions and 40 non-confederation labor unions on December 10-11. "The national strike will be held on December 10-11, 2014, and five million workers, students, farmers, fishermen, and poor people will participate," Secretary General of Confederation of Indonesian Labor Unions (KSPI) Muhammad Rusdi said here on Friday. Three confederations of labor unions and 40 non-confederation labor unions have united against the recent fuel price hike and relatively small rise in regional minimum wages, he noted. The KSPI, Confederation of Prosperous Indonesian Labor Union, and Federation of Non-Confederation Labor Unions have agreed to hold a nationwide strike on December 10-11, he added. On November 27, 2014, three confederations of labor unions had declared a nationwide strike at Gedung Juang building in Menteng, Central Jakarta. "Workers from at least 150 districts and municipalities that have industry and service bases and students are prepared to participate in a nationwide strike in response to the policy of the new government, which took office less than two months ago but has already brought many sufferings to the common people and workers," he remarked. (*)