Dian Septi Trisnanti, head of the Marsinah.id community platform, said that that the policies in question include those related to regulations and laws that have given rise to low wages for workers and repressive practices by the authorities.

This is why she emphasised that the problems face by workers will not be resolved just by the president making an apology.

“I don’t think it’s enough to apologise, because President Jokowi’s polices since he came to power until now when his term in office will end, many have been detrimental to society and have the potential to impoverish workers’ families for generations. Meaning poverty that is systematic. During the Covid-19 [pandemic] our wages were cut by 25 percent. This was followed by the Jobs Law and Government Regulation 78 of 2015”, Trisnanti told KBR Media on Friday August 2.

Trisnanti said that the policies Widodo has given birth do are also gender biased as can be seen from the failure to enact the Draft Law on the Protection of Domestic Workers (RUU PPRT), which has been sitting idle in parliament for 20 years.

“The impact has been structural poverty, and it impacts more on women workers because women workers are more vulnerable, in the midst of a society that is still gender biased. Jokowi’s policies are still very gender biased and do not place any importance on women. This can be seen from the failure to enact the Draft Law on the Protection of Domestic
Workers that has been sitting idle for 20 years. This is the specialcharacter of the class struggle”, explained Trisnanti.

Trisnanti also said that the government has not yet optimised protecting the rights of workers in the nickel mining sector.

“Instead of thinking about the safety of K3 [occupational health and safety programs] so that there are no explosions and the loss of lives, Jokowi instead encourages downstreaming nickel which it’s imagine will abolish our debt”, she said referring to several incidents in which explosions at nickel refineries have killed dozens of workers.

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Jokowi’s public apology not enough to make up for his sins against the people

The Indonesian Trade Union Congress Alliance (KASBI) believes that President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s public apology for any mistakes he made during his presidency is not enough to wipe out his sins against the ordinary people.

The reason, according to the KASBI National Labor Council Coordinator Nining Elitos, is that the policy decisions given birth to by Widodo while serving as president will continue to leave behind a bad legacy. One of those that is most felt is the Omnibus Law on Job Creation (Jobs Law).

“Apologies are common between members of religious communities, but the impact of [Widodo’s] behaviour while he was in power, the policies that give birth to suffering for many people, these are big sins. Always thinking about how to fulfill the lust of investment, which ultimately give them a red carpet. During the criticism, resistance, the struggle waged by the ordinary people, he instead criminalised of the lives of five young people at the time of the Jobs Law”, Elitos told KBR Media on Friday August 2, referring to the five people killed during protests against the Jobs Law.

Elitos also highlighted the increasingly massive repression by security forces, the criminalisation of activists and the silencing of critics that has been felt by society during the two terms of Widodo’s presidency.

“The ordinary people’s voices have been silenced through various kinds of laws one of which is the ITE [Information and Electronic Transition Law], including me who fell victim at that time”, said Elitos, who was summoned by police over remarks made during the 2021 commemoration of International Women’s Day.

Creating chaos

Elitos explained that Widodo often creates chaos each time he gives birth to policy decisions. This is because it is very rare that these decision side with the interests of the ordinary people.

Such as the increase in fuel prices, the increase in basic electricity tariffs and workers’ wages that are pushed down as low as possible.

“The government continues to try to take fresh funds from the ordinary people such as for the old age pension insurance, or most recently the Tapera Law [obligatory wage deductions for the Public Housing Savings Program] which adds to the length of the people’s suffering”, she said.

Elitos added that the Widodo administration will also leave behind a huge debt and this will also add to the burden on the ordinary people. “Aside from the damage to democratic space, the debt is getting bigger, and this will be borne by the ordinary people”, she said.

According to Elitos, the concrete measures that could be taken to fix this chaos is to revoke al of the problematic regulations and laws, rather than just apologising.

Jokowi apologises

Earlier, Widodo apologised to the Indonesian people ahead of the end of his term in office on October 20.

“On the first day of the month of independence, August. With utmost sincerity and humility, allow me and [Vice President] Kiai [Islamic cleric] Haji Ma’ruf Amin to sincerely apologise for all the wrongs and mistakes [we have made] up until now. Specifically while we carried out our mandate as president of the Republic of Indonesia and vice president
of the Republic of Indonesia”, said Widodo during a zikir (recitation of the names of Allah) and prayer for 79 years of Indonesian independence on the grounds of the Merdeka Palace in Central Jakarta on Thursday evening, August 1.

Widodo said he and Ma’ruf Amin have bene unable to please and fulfill the hopes of everyone. He referred to himself as being imperfect and just an ordinary human being.

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Hoirunnisa

Translated by James Balowski

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