JAKARTA ~

Labor unions will organize a national strike on December 10-11, 2014, to raise five demands, Indonesian Workers Union Confederation (KSPI) Secretary General Muhammad Rusdi has stated.

“Based on our initial plan, we will organize a labor strike on December 10-11, 2014, to raise five demands with the government. We will further confirm it tomorrow,” the KSPI secretary general said here on Wednesday.

According to him, the five demands include the revocation of the subsidized fuel oil price hikes because it has reduced the purchasing power of laborers.

“Their purchasing power in sectors such as food, transportation, and house rentals has declined. An increase of Rp2,000 per liter of oil has put a burden of some Rp400 thousand on laborers. In Jakarta, there has been no wage hike and workers have to somehow cover their costs of living,” the KSPI secretary general observed.

The second demand is that all governors should revise provincial minimum wage rates in accordance with or by taking into account the impacts of the fuel oil price rise.

“Any chance of the provincial minimum wage rates to be raised this year has been closed. Even Jakarta’s provincial wage was set at Rp2.7 million per month sometime ago. Based on the labor alliance’s calculations, the minimum wage should be at least Rp3 million per month to cover the impact of the fuel oil price hikes,” he explained.

The third demand, he said, is the imposition of pension insurance for laborers by 2015 in line with the new regulations of the government.

The fourth demand is that the outsourcing of work should be banned, particularly at state-owned companies or BUMNs.

The fifth demand is that the government should improve the health security system for citizens.

Besides the five demands, they will also urge the government to provide health security guarantee and minimum wages for informal laborers who so far do not have any social protection.

Earlier, the KSPI claimed to have won the support of the legislature’s Commission IX on manpower affairs in seeking the revocation of the subsidized fuel price hikes.

The KPSI announced in a press statement on Saturday that it gained the support of the Commission IX of the House of Representatives (DPR) after workers attended a hearing on Wednesday with legislators.

At the hearing, House Commission IV vowed to assist workers in their struggle.

Workers who had gathered in front of the parliamentary complex were met by Chairman of Commission IX Dede Yusuf and six other commission members.

Commission IX member Noor Yasin of the Prosperous Justice Party took the opportunity to deliver a speech wherein he stated that his side was also fighting for the same cause and asked for the prices of subsidized fuels to be lowered.

“We are all in the same boat. Like workers, we are also opposing the subsidized fuel price hikes,” Yasin remarked.

Commission IX member Susi Marleny Bachsin also delivered a speech and expressed his commitment to fight for the rights of women.

“I will fight for the aspirations of female workers,” he declared.