Jakarta. Tens of thousands of workers across Indonesia will stage nationwide protests on Thursday, just days after a similar demonstration in Jakarta descended into riots earlier this week.

In the capital, rallies will be concentrated around the Parliament Complex in Senayan and the Presidential Palace. Said Iqbal, president of the Confederation of Indonesian Trade Unions (KSPI) and leader of the Labor Party, said about 10,000 workers from Greater Jakarta and Karawang, West Java, will march to the city to join the action.

Coordinated protests are also planned in major industrial hubs, including Serang, Bandung, Semarang, Surabaya, Medan, Banda Aceh, Batam, Bandar Lampung, Banjarmasin, Pontianak, Samarinda, Makassar, Gorontalo, and other regions.

“The movement calls for an end to outsourcing practices and rejects low wages. This demonstration will be peaceful,” Iqbal said in a statement on Wednesday.

Outsourcing, where companies use third-party contractors instead of direct hires, often results in lower pay, insecure contracts, fewer benefits, and weaker worker protections.

Thursday’s protest also targets what unions call “tone-deaf” government policies, particularly lawmakers’ rising pay packages. On Monday, protests over the same issue escalated into rioting, vandalism, and clashes with police, leading to hundreds of arrests, including high school students.

Iqbal slammed the payroll of House of Representatives (DPR) members, which totals about Rp 154 million ($9,900) per month, including allowances, equivalent to over Rp 3 million per day. By contrast, Jakarta’s minimum wage is about Rp 5 million per month, or Rp 150,000 per day.

“The disparity is stark. Workers earn Rp 150,000 per day on average, while informal workers make even less. Meanwhile, DPR members live with extraordinary privileges and lifetime pensions,” Iqbal said.

He pointed out that online motorcycle taxi drivers often earn only Rp 500,000 to Rp 1 million per month, or as little as Rp 20,000 per day, far below the cost of living.

“This isn’t just about numbers; it’s about justice,” Iqbal added. “People see their representatives in their ivory tower, enjoying luxury while millions of workers struggle with declining incomes and precarious work.”

Workers’ Key Demands

• Reject low wages: raise the 2026 national minimum wage by 8.5 percent–10.5 percent

• Abolish outsourcing: enforce the Constitutional Court order under the Job Creation Law

• Stop layoffs: establish a government task force on mass dismissals

• Reform labor taxes: raise the non-taxable income threshold to Rp 7.5 million; scrap taxes on severance, holiday allowances, and pensions; and end discriminatory taxes on married women

• Pass the Labor Bill and the Asset Seizure Bill

• Eradicate corruption: revise the Election Law and redesign the 2029 election system