News

UNI Global Union joins millions of workers around the world to convey concerns on the  use of police violence in the demonstration on the minimum wage which took place in Jakarta on 30 October.

UNI affiliate ASPEK expressed their shock at the brutal repression of a peaceful demonstration. Police used water cannons, tear gas, vehicles were smashed and many protestors were beaten up. 25 demonstrators were arrested, including 8 members of ITUC affiliate KSPI and two public lawyers.

At least 35,000 workers from 8 different Indonesian unions attended a peaceful protest to oppose a government regulation which seeks to peg statutory minimum wage levels to inflation and GDP rates only, and to demand an increase to the 2016 minimum wage by 22 %.

UNI General Secretary Philip Jennings said, “The government’s use of excessive force and arrest of peaceful demonstrators is a setback to freedom of association in Indonesia and violates the ILO’s principles.”

“We call upon the Indonesian government to legislate and develop a mechanism to fix the statutory minimum wage. We urge them to withdraw the new regulation on wages, drop the charges against arrested protestors and refrain from police violence and prosecution against peaceful demonstrations”.

UNI Global Union represents more than 20 million workers from over 900 trade unions in the skills and services sector.