Jakarta, IO – About 50,000 workers from the Greater Jakarta region are set to stage a protest around the State Palace to commemorate International Labor Day or May Day, Wednesday (1/5), announced the Confederation of Indonesian Trade Unions (KSPI) president Said Iqbal.
The May Day will also be celebrated on a large scale with simultaneous event involving hundreds of thousands of workers in many regions of the country. Said said that there are at least two key demands that would be raised in the rally. First, the repeal of Law 11/2020 (Job Creations Law). Second, the abolishment of the outsourcing of low-paying jobs.
May 1 is also a moment to remember Marsinah, a worker who has become a symbol of labor struggle. Marsinah’s life was immortalized through a monument in her hometown in Nganjuk, East Java. Marsinah is known as an activist and advocate of labor rights whose life ended tragically.
She had to work hard from her early age. She then became a registered union member and represented workers at the factory she worked at to negotiate a fair wage with the company on May 5, 1993.
At that time, 13 workers thought to be the organizers of the protest were arrested and taken to the Sidoarjo Military District Command (Kodim). They were then forced to resign from the company because they were accused of holding illegal assembly and preventing other employees from working.
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Upon hearing this news, Marsinah reportedly went there to ask about the whereabouts of her 13 colleagues. In the evening, around 10pm WIB, Marsinah disappeared. Then her body was found in a gruesome condition in Nganjuk on May 9, 1993. The autopsy results stated that Marsinah was estimated to have died one day before her body was found.
The cause of Marsinah’s death was severe torture. She was also believed to be raped. Her tragic death sparked a furor as the public who demanded that the government thoroughly investigate and bring the perpetrators to justice. However, up to now the culprits were never found.
Marsinah was posthumously awarded the Yap Thiam Hien Award, and her life story has also been adapted into various literary works and performing arts. (un)