Table of Contents
Preface
Protests & Demonstrations
Police Brutality
Updates
Preface
The Job Creation Law was an act of legislation approved by Parliament on the 5th of October to change the labor system and natural resources management; it amended 79 laws and was supposed to improve bureaucratic efficiency. Unions, workers, and students, however, say that it will hurt workers by reducing severance pay, taking off manual labor restrictions for foreign workers, increasing the use of outsourcing, and converting monthly salaries to hourly wages.
Organizers began to mobilize for a 3-day national strike beginning on the 6th of October to revoke the new law; dissenters are a coalition of unions, communist parties, and student groups. Police were expected to crack down heavily on the protesters, as hundreds of thousands of people would be taking to the streets.
Protests & Demonstrations
Protests began in the tens of thousands, opposing the Job Creation Law and its impacts on labor and the environment. Protesters centered themselves in Jakarta and other major cities in Sumatra and Sulawesi.
Police Brutality
Police responded immediately and severely to the protests, sending amounts of tear gas comparable to Portland, and beating protesters. Hundreds were injured, but none insofar were reported killed. The President was evacuated from Jakarta to Kalimantan.
Updates
Omnibus Law Protests Continue in Indonesia
Day 3 of Indonesian National Strike
