Tens Of Thousands Voice Redundancy Fears İn Indonesia

More than 50,000 workers in fear of losing their jobs marched along Jakarta's main thoroughfare on Tuesday to demand the government take action to prevent further economic slowdown.



The president of the confederation of Indonesian trade unions, Said Iqbal, told Anadolu Agency that worsening global economic conditions were having a direct impact on the national economy, leaving the rupiah at its weakest position in 17 years.



The rupiah has depreciated nearly 12 percent against the dollar in 2015, making it the second-worst performing Asian currency behind the Malaysian Ringgit.



"We hope the government issues regulations to protect workers and companies from the pressures of an unstable world economy, for example by lowering electricity rates for factories," Iqbal said.



He added that the conditions were forcing an increasing number of employers to lay off staff to reduce operating costs to avoid bankruptcy.



More than 8,000 police officers lined the route as workers marched by.



The workers filed 10 demands, among them a plea to the government to prevent mass layoffs and reject the entry of foreign workers.



"If these demands are ignored, we will make national strike across Indonesia," Iqbal warned.



Employment Minister Hanif Dhakiri said Tuesday that in the year to the end of August, 26,000 workers have been laid off.



With rumours circulating among the crowd that some 10 million Chinese migrants are ready to flock into the Indonesian labor market, as China is investing heavily in the country, Coordinating Minister for Political Law and Security Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan was forced to issue a denial.



He told beritasatu.com that the latest data showed that there were just 13,000 Chinese workers in the country.



"That number is very small compared to the [overall] number of foreign workers in Indonesia, or Indonesians working overseas," he said.



In August, Indonesia's Central Statistics Agency reported that the economy had grown by just 4.67 percent in the first semester of this year – a six-year low and 0.36 percent drop from the same period last year. - Endonezya