President of The Confederation of Indonesian Trade Unions (KSPI), Said Iqbal, has hinted that thousands of workers will stage a sit-in in front of the Constitutional Court on October 31, 2024 when the court’s justices will read out their verdict on the judicial review filed against the Job Creation Law.
“The Constitutional Court ruling is very crucial for the future of employment in Indonesia, considering the many articles in the Job Creation Law that are considered detrimental to workers,” Said Iqbal, who is also President of Labor Party, said in a statement as quoted on Tuesday, October 29, 2024.
The lawsuit was filed by the Labor Party, KSPI, the All-Indonesia Workers Unions Confederation (KSPSI AGN), All-Indonesia United Workers Confederation (KPBI), the Indonesian Metal Workers Federation (FSPMI) , and several outsourced workers who were laid off.
Said Iqbal emphasized that the petitioners urged the Constitutional Court to grant all the petitions submitted, especially regarding the revocation of articles that are detrimental to workers.
“We ask the Constitutional Court to remove the rules that favor low wages, outsourcing for life, easy layoffs, low severance pay, unclear term for contract employees, illegal unskilled foreign workers, as well as the elimination of long leave rights and maternity leave with full pay,” he said.
One of the problems highlighted is the practice of layoffs that are made easier by only using short text messages such as WhatsApp. “In fact, layoffs can now be done only via WhatsApp and approved by the Manpower Office. This is clearly a neoliberal policy that is very detrimental to workers,” he added.
The petitioners also criticized the low severance pay policy implemented in the Job Creation Law. Previously, laid-off workers could get severance pay up to twice the old regulation. “Now, laid-off workers can only get 0.5 times severance pay, even those who have worked for years only get 10 million rupiah. This is clearly exploitative capitalism,” he said.
Regarding the action plan on October 31, thousands of workers from various industrial sectors will hold a peaceful rally in front of the Constitutional Court building.
“We hope that the police will not block the horse statue [at the intersection of Jalan MH Thamrin and Jalan Medan Merdeka]. We just want to guard the Constitutional Court’s ruling and seek justice. This is a peaceful and constitutional action,” Said Iqbal said.
“We are seeking justice, why should we be blocked? We want workers’ voices to be heard, and this is our constitutional right,” Said Iqbal concluded.
Similar actions will also be held in various parts of Indonesia, such as the offices of governors, regents, mayors, or local legislative councils (DPRD) in East Java, Central Java, North Sumatra, Batam, Makassar, Banjarmasin, Gorontalo, and other industrial cities.
