Workers protest Indonesia’s labor law in May Day rallies

JAKARTA, Indonesia — Workers in Indonesia marked international labor day on Saturday with significantly less-attended marches due to coronavirus restrictions, but thousands still vented their anger at a new law they say harms their rights and welfare.

About 50,000 workers from 3,000 companies and factories were expected to take part in traditional May Day marches in 200 cities and districts in Southeast Asia’s largest economy, said Said Iqbal, the president of the Confederation of Indonesian Trade Unions. However, most rallies are held outside factories or company compounds with strict health protocols, Iqbal said.

Elsewhere in the region, police in the Philippine capital of Manila prevented hundreds of workers belonging to leftwing groups from holding a May Day rally at a public plaza, said protest leader Renato Reyes. A monthlong coronavirus lockdown there has been extended by two weeks amid an alarming surge.

In Taipei City in Taiwan, hundreds of protesters marched in the streets to ask for better salaries and more secure pensions. Most protesters wore face masks to protect themselves from the virus.

In Indonesia’s capital of Jakarta, the epicenter of the national epidemic, authorities have warned labor groups to adhere to social distancing and other health measures, which would significantly reduce crowds, said Jakarta Police spokesperson Yusri Yunus. He added that more than 6,300 police personnel were deployed to secure the capital.

Enraged over the new Job Creation Law, several hundred workers gathered near the national monument, waving colorful flags of labor groups and banners with demands. Others laid tomb effigies on the street to symbolize their hopeless and uncertain future under the new law.