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JAKARTA: Indonesian police arrested 23 protesters in two industrial areas on the island of Java, using tear gas and water cannons as thousands of people across the country demonstrated against a new employment law that critics say weakens the workers’ rights and environmental regulation.
Edy Sumardi, a police spokesman in Banten on the island of Java, said on Wednesday (October 7) that 14 protesters had been arrested in the province west of Jakarta during Tuesday’s protests that continued into the night.
LEE: Indonesia’s parliament approves the government’s flagship employment bill
Another police spokesman, Erdi Adrimulan Chaniago, said that nine more were arrested in the city of Bandung, West Java.
He said authorities would monitor factories and university campuses in the event of further demonstrations.
The sweeping new legislation, approved by parliament on Monday, has been championed by President Joko Widodo’s government as key to boosting the competitiveness of Southeast Asia’s largest economy, hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, by cutting red tape and attract foreign investment. .
But amid a social media outcry, critics say the legislation, which reviews more than 70 existing laws and regulations, comes at the expense of weakened labor protection and lax environmental rules.
Passing the bill earlier than expected, at a time when the police had restricted demonstrations in the capital Jakarta for public health reasons, has also raised concerns among academics and activists over the lack of consultation.
LEE: Indonesian unions threaten to strike over government labor reforms
Tuesday’s largely peaceful street protests in more than six Indonesian cities were accompanied by backlash on social media, with Indonesians criticizing the law using insulting hashtags that went viral.
An online petition calling for the repeal of the law has garnered more than 1.3 million signatures.
On Wednesday, the Indonesian Confederation of Workers’ Unions said in a statement that it would continue a planned three-day strike after claiming hundreds of thousands had left its factories on Tuesday.
