Spanish
Jakarta.- Hundreds of workers from the transportation 'app' sector demonstrated this Wednesday in front of the Parliament in Jakarta, amid a strong police presence to avoid the clashes recorded in other recent protests.
Although according to the organizers, the attendance of between 2,000 and 5,000 taxi drivers and delivery personnel from digital platforms such as Gojek -the Indonesian Uber- or Grab -a Singaporean company-, was expected, the concentration was reduced to a few hundred protesters on a day affected by rain, local media report.
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With the aim of avoiding disturbances, the authorities had planned to deploy about 6,000 security agents to monitor the protests, as the country has accumulated three weeks of demonstrations that have left at least a dozen dead. The attendees, who were also planning to gather around a central monument in the capital, are demanding better working conditions and the resignation of the Minister of Transportation, Dudy Purwagandhi. "There are 6,118 combined personnel for deployment in the House of Representatives and in the Arjuna Wijaya Horse Statue area -in Central Jakarta-," said the head of the Indonesian capital's metropolitan police, Susatyo Purnomo Condro, today, as reported by local media. The reinforced security device arrives after protesters and security forces starred in violent episodes in previous days of protest, such as attacks on government buildings and homes of politicians, while the Police used tear gas. The national association of digital platform drivers, Garda, indicated that the increase in remuneration they receive for each service provided is one of the main demands of workers in a sector that, dominated by Gojek and Grab, employs around five million people in Indonesia. They are also calling for the dismissal of the Minister of Transportation, after Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto removed the leaders of several portfolios last week, although he did not link the measure to the demonstrations.Initially led by students, the protests erupted in Indonesia at the end of August, upon learning that the deputies would receive salaries of up to $14,000, in a country where the majority of workers earn 3% of this amount per month.
The death of a Gojek driver after being run over by a police vehicle on the second day of demonstrations was the trigger for the violence in the gatherings. The congregations this Wednesday take place one day after the Government confirmed that Prabowo intends to reform the functioning and regulations of the Police, one of the demands of the protesters, who already obtained a concession related to the revocation of privileges of deputies. They agreed today with the Constitutional Court's decision to ratify the legislative reform approved in Parliament in March to expand the access of active military personnel to positions in public bodies, after receiving a formal request for judicial review of the rule due to alleged irregularities.
