Work Stoppages Cases until September 2024: West Java Tops the List

According to data from the Ministry of Manpower (Kemnaker), there were 201 labor strikes in Indonesia between January and September 2024. These cases involved at least 30,547 workers and resulted in the loss of 244,376 working hours.

West Java had the highest number of strikes nationally, with 37 cases between January and September 2024. These strikes involved 4,750 workers and resulted in the loss of 38,000 working hours.

Following West Java were DKI Jakarta (37 cases), East Kalimantan (31 cases), Central Java (17 cases), and South Sulawesi (13 cases). The remaining cases are shown in the accompanying graph.

Kemnaker recorded no strikes in North Maluku, Aceh, Jambi, Bengkulu, Lampung, Bangka Belitung, East Nusa Tenggara, South Kalimantan, Southeast Sulawesi, Gorontalo, West Sulawesi, West Papua, and Papua.

Based on the Minister of Manpower Decree No. 232 of 2003, a labor strike is a planned and jointly implemented action by workers and/or trade unions to stop or slow down work. This regulation states that strikes are a fundamental right of workers and/or trade unions, to be conducted legally, orderly, and peacefully as a result of failed negotiations.

A strike is considered illegal if it meets the following criteria:

* It is not due to failed negotiations;
* There is no notification to the employer and the labor office;
* Notification is less than 7 days before the strike; and
* The strike occurs in a company serving public interest and/or a company whose activities endanger human life, and is carried out by workers on duty.

Separately, the Indonesian Workers' Union Conference (KSPI) and the Labor Party announced a national strike involving 5 million workers from December 19-24, 2024. This action will take place if there is no satisfactory agreement on a new formula for minimum wage increases between the labor unions and Kemnaker.

KSPI President and Labor Party President Said Iqbal stated that the national strike is a last resort if the government fails to provide a fair solution. "We still have high hopes for this deliberation," Iqbal said in a statement, as reported by *Kompas.com* on Friday, November 8, 2024.