Labor Day Action in Surabaya Guarded by 3,174 Officers

A total of 3,174 joint personnel guarded the Labor Day action in Surabaya, East Java.

KOMPAS/BAHANA PATRIA GUPTA

Female laborers wearing caps protest to commemorate International Labor Day in front of the East Java Governor's Office, Surabaya city, East Java, on Monday (5/1/2023).

SURABAYA, KOMPAS — Regional Police East Java coordinated 3,174 joint TNI, Polri and government officers to guard the action Labor Day in Surabaya, Wednesday (1/5/2024).

The joint team consists of 1,758 members from the East Java Regional Police, 557 members from the Surabaya Metropolitan Police, 353 sector police officers, as well as 506 personnel from the Indonesian Military and civil servants.

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"According to the notification, the Labor Day action in Surabaya will be concentrated at Grahadi State Building, East Java DPRD, and the East Java Governor's Office," said Head of Public Relations of the East Java Regional Police, Senior Commissioner Dirmanto, was contacted on Wednesday morning.

In addition to the central area of the capital of East Java, security measures are also being implemented at nine toll gates in the Surabaya, Gresik, and Sidoarjo areas. The security measures aim to ensure smooth traffic that may be affected by the demonstration in the city center. The gates in question are Romokalisari, Tandes, Dupak, Banyuurip, Kota Satelit, Gunungsari, Warugunung, Waru Utama, and Berbek (Rungkut).

"We hope that the Labor Day commemoration can run orderly and smoothly," said Dirmanto.

KOMPAS/BAHANA PATRIA GUPTA

Workers demonstrate to commemorate World Labor Day in front of the East Java Governor's Office, Surabaya City, Monday (1/5/2023). One of their demands is to reject the omnibus law.

Separately, the Head of the Surabaya Metropolitan Police, Commissioner Besar Pasma Royce, advised residents who will be engaging in Labor Day activities in Surabaya to anticipate density and traffic. Officials will create traffic engineering around the center of the labor protest so that road users do not get stuck.

The demonstration will be followed by a combined group of workers from Surabaya, Sidoarjo, Gresik, Mojokerto, and Lamongan. It is possible that around 20,000 workers will enter Surabaya.

The protest center is on Governor Suryo Street (Negara Grahadi Building), Indrapura Street (East Java Regional People's Representative Council), and Pahlawan Street (Governor's Office of East Java). Traffic from Bubutan Street will not turn left to Indrapura Street, but turn right to Kebon Rojo Street and towards Surabaya Kota Station (Semut). Vehicles from Veteran Street cannot continue south to Pahlawan Street, but must turn left to Kebon Rojo Street towards Semut.

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The East Java DPRD Building and the East Java Governor's Office are relatively close to each other. As the center of the action is here, officials have prepared a sudden parking area for participants. The parking area is located on Indrapura Street, Rajawali Street, Johar Street, Tugu Pahlawan, Pasar Besar Street, Sulung Street, and Pasar Turi Street.

Pasma continued, the traffic towards Gubernur Suryo Street will be redirected to Embong Malang Street. Traffic from Tunjungan Street cannot pass through Gubernur Suryo Street, but must instead turn back to Embong Malang Street. Traffic towards Tunjungan Street is redirected to Genteng Kali Street to avoid getting trapped in congestion.

KOMPAS/AMBROSIUS HARTO MANUMOYOSO

The traffic was noticeably light on Tunjungan Street in Surabaya, East Java, during Eid al-Fitr 1 Syawal 1445 Hijriah or Wednesday (10/4/2024). On Labor Day on Wednesday (1/5/2024), Tunjungan Street was subject to traffic engineering.

The Deputy Secretary of the Indonesian Metal Workers' Federation (FSPMI) in East Java, Nuruddin Hidayat, stated that the action will be followed by a combined group of workers from Surabaya, Sidoarjo, Gresik, Mojokerto, and Lamongan. The number of workers who may enter Surabaya is estimated to be 20,000 people.

The demands that will be voiced in the protest mainly include rejection and revocation of Law Number 6 of 2023 concerning Job Creation. In addition, there is a push for the acceleration of the approval of the Domestic Workers Protection Bill, rejection of low wages and severance pay, as well as rejection of the outsourcing work system.

Nuruddin continued, for East Java, laborers are pushing for the approval of the governor's regulation regarding worker protection, regional regulations regarding severance pay, and allocation of Regional Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBD) for the Health BPJS contributions of poor people.