May Day is not a holiday in Indonesia. Even if May 1 fell this year on a Saturday it is still a normal working day for most workers on the archipelago. Workers have to take a day off or go on strike to be present. Despite this and other obstacles thousands of workers hit the streets in the main industrial centres like Jakarta, Bandung and Surabaya on the island Java, Medan in Sumatra, Palu in Sulawesi and smaller places like Riau and Batam.
The rallying cry of many unions this year was the protest against new labour laws that fail to protect workers against the bosses. The new rule that makes it possible to contract workers on a temporary basis has provoked a lot of anger. The privatisation plans of the government and massive lay-offs were also at the centre of the union demands.
In Jakarta, the May Day rally was also joined by former employees of PT Dirgantara Indonesia, the aircraft manufacturer and of Hotel Indonesia, one of biggest hotels in the capital. Two rallies were organised by different groups of unions. One was organised by the left wing FNPBI union together with Gaspermindo, another labour union confederation. Along the way to the presidential palace the workers took over the station of Radio Republik Indonesia with the aim of airing their demands.
At all the demos the workers lambasted the national or regional government for not taking side with the workers despite their promises. Its no accident that the Democratic Party of Indonesia, party of the ruling president Megawati Sukarnoputri, who won many workers votes in the past, lost many votes in the April elections. Many workers have lost confidence in the electoral promises. This may push them to move more on the industrial front in the future.