JAKARTA. Labor unions plan to send 20,000 members to rally in front of the Presidential Palace and the Supreme Court on Feb. 6 to protest layoffs and to urge the government to revoke the recently introduced formula for setting minimum wages. The rally follows the announcement of mass layoffs at companies such Japanese electronics giants Panasonic and Toshiba, which adds pressure on the government to swiftly implement stimulus packages designed to offset the economic slowdown. “Not only in Jakarta, simultaneous rallies will be held by thousands of workers in Surabaya, Batam, Bandung, Medan, Aceh and Makassar,” the chairman of the Confederation of Indonesian Workers Unions (KSPI), Said Iqbal, said in Jakarta on Wednesday.
20,000 workers to protest layoffs and low wages
JAKARTA. Labor unions plan to send 20,000 members to rally in front of the Presidential Palace and the Supreme Court on Feb. 6 to protest layoffs and to urge the government to revoke the recently introduced formula for setting minimum wages. The rally follows the announcement of mass layoffs at companies such Japanese electronics giants Panasonic and Toshiba, which adds pressure on the government to swiftly implement stimulus packages designed to offset the economic slowdown. “Not only in Jakarta, simultaneous rallies will be held by thousands of workers in Surabaya, Batam, Bandung, Medan, Aceh and Makassar,” the chairman of the Confederation of Indonesian Workers Unions (KSPI), Said Iqbal, said in Jakarta on Wednesday.