Indonesian unions vow mass protests if president signs jobs law

Hundreds of thousands of Indonesians have hit the streets across the archipelago in recent weeks they protested the measures passed by parliament on Oct. 5. (Reuters)

• ‘We are ready for dialogue, even ready for a debate if necessary in an open, public hearing’

JAKARTA: Indonesia’s workers will stage further mass protests across the country if President Joko Widodo signs new jobs measures into law next week, the head of the main labor group said on Saturday.
“It is the exploitation of labor that we’re against,” said the head of the Confederation of Indonesian Trade Unions, Said Iqbal. “We are ready for dialogue, even ready for a debate if necessary in an open, public hearing.”
The government says the legislation will boost employment by cutting red tape, easing restrictions of foreign investment and improving labor market competitiveness. Unions and rights groups say the measures favor business over workers and the environment.
Hundreds of thousands of Indonesians have hit the streets across the archipelago in recent weeks, culminating in sporadic violence and thousands of arrests, as they protested the measures passed by parliament on Oct. 5.
If the president, widely known as Jokowi, signs the measures into law, as expected, on Wednesday, labor unions will stage “massive national” protests on Nov. 1, centered on the State Palace and Constitutional Court in the capital Jakarta, Iqbal told a virtual news conference.
Tens of thousands would be expected to gather in Jakarta and hundreds of thousands more across the country, he said.
Spokesmen at Jokowi’s office, Jakarta police and Indonesia’s economic ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.