May Day Demo Reveals Copyright Law Is Still The Cause Of Labor Welfare

May Day 2024 long march from the Horse Statue area to the Madya Senayan Stadium, Jakarta, Wednesday 1 May afternoon. (Jehan-VOI)

JAKARTA - A number of labor elements held demonstrations to commemorate International Labor Day (May Day) in several locations. One of them is the Horse Statue area, Central Jakarta.

The President of the Confederation of Indonesian Trade Unions (KSPI) Said Iqbal revealed that the Job Creation Law is still the cause of the problem of workers' welfare since the regulation was promulgated until now.

Another problem that the workers demand is the rejection of the workers' low wages.

"These two issues have become a problem for workers in the last 5 years. The Omnibus Law on the Copyright Act has resulted in layoffs everywhere," said Said Iqbal when met at the Horse Statue area, Central Jakarta, Wednesday, May 1.

According to Said Iqbal, the fact is that the Ciptaker Law is not effective in absorbing labor. During 2023, KSPI noted that hundreds of thousands of workers were laid off.

The Ciptaker Law, he continued, also resulted in a very low increase in the minimum wage every year. The government limits the increase in the UMP to a maximum of 5 percent per region.

Meanwhile, workers demand a 15 percent wage increase by considering meeting their daily costs amid rising prices.

"It's not enough if the current minimum wage is around 4.9 or 5.1 million rupiah. So, it's close to IDR 7 million. This is from the results of the BPS survey, the name is SBH, the cost of living survey," said Said Iqbal.

Other problems caused by the Job Creation Law, continued Said Iqbal, include the small severance pay value, guarantees for wages for female workers who are on maternity leave are unclear, to the increasing number of foreign workers.

On that basis, the labor group continues to demand that Mahmakah Konstitusi (MK) revoke the Job Creation Law, at least in the employment cluster and farmers, as well as the environment and human rights being sued.