Asian working class protest on Labour Day

SEOUL – Thousands of labourers and activists took to Asia’s streets Tuesday to mark May Day in mostly peaceful rallies for higher wages and better working conditions.

Some protests denounced political leaders for trade and labour policies. Security was heavy in some cities, especially in Southeast Asia.Other events were more festive, including a friendly soccer match between North and South Korean workers.Police in the Chinese territory of Macau fired shots into the air and used pepper spray to disperse protesters who tried to break through police lines blocking a labour march.There were no reported injuries.At least five marchers protesting illegal workers from mainland China and corruption were taken away by police.In Seoul, about 7 000 people gathered in a university district amid cloudy skies and occasional light rain, carrying banners and shouting slogans against the labour and trade policies of President Roh Moo-hyun.Labour unions are angry with Roh for concluding a free trade deal with the United States, which they say will cost jobs and harm livelihoods, as well as for labour policies they say encourage companies to utilise part-time workers instead of hiring permanent staff.In the Philippines, riot police on the highest state of alert blocked hundreds of protesters who tried to march toward President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s residence to demand higher wages and her removal from office.Separately, about 5 000 people massed in a downtown Manila square.Led by the left-wing May First Movement, they accused Arroyo of granting incentives to businessmen but neglecting lowly paid workers.At a gathering of moderate labour groups in Manila, Arroyo unveiled a package of benefits for government and private-sector workers, including salary loans, low-cost housing and scholarships.Labourers in Indonesia rallied across the sprawling archipelago, including the capital, Jakarta, where they called for safer working conditions, a doubling of basic wages and tax exemptions for low-income families.”Workers unite,” protesters chanted at the heavily guarded Presidential Palace.”We can’t be defeated.”Police said about 21 000 officers, some armed with batons and shields, patrolled the streets of the capital.Union leader Dita Indah Sari said the government of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono “has failed in creating jobs and improving the welfare for workers.”About 42 000 people participated in a rally against widening income inequality in Japan at a May Day event in a central Tokyo park, according to Kyodo News agency.Smaller rallies were organised by labour unions in 374 cities and towns across Japan.Japan has been confronting a widening income gap as its economy emerges from a decade-long economic stagnation, challenging the country’s view of itself as solidly middle-class and egalitarian.In Singapore, opposition leader Chee Soon Juan, head of the Singapore Democratic Party, and his sister, completed a 55-hour walk around their tiny island-nation in a bid to raise awareness of poverty and underpaid workers.In the South Korean city of Changwon, workers from North and South Korea played a friendly soccer match in front of about 2 000 people.Each side included workers from the divided states.In tightly controlled North Korea, the official Rodong Sinmun newspaper said in an editorial that the country’s workers and citizens were united in their will “to bring about ceaseless surge in the building of a great prosperous powerful nation” under the leadership of the country’s ruler Kim Jong Il.Nampa-APSecurity was heavy in some cities, especially in Southeast Asia.Other events were more festive, including a friendly soccer match between North and South Korean workers.Police in the Chinese territory of Macau fired shots into the air and used pepper spray to disperse protesters who tried to break through police lines blocking a labour march.There were no reported injuries.At least five marchers protesting illegal workers from mainland China and corruption were taken away by police.In Seoul, about 7 000 people gathered in a university district amid cloudy skies and occasional light rain, carrying banners and shouting slogans against the labour and trade policies of President Roh Moo-hyun.Labour unions are angry with Roh for concluding a free trade deal with the United States, which they say will cost jobs and harm livelihoods, as well as for labour policies they say encourage companies to utilise part-time workers instead of hiring permanent staff.In the Philippines, riot police on the highest state of alert blocked hundreds of protesters who tried to march toward President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s residence to demand higher wages and her removal from office.Separately, about 5 000 people massed in a downtown Manila square.Led by the left-wing May First Movement, they accused Arroyo of granting incentives to businessmen but neglecting lowly paid workers.At a gathering of moderate labour groups in Manila, Arroyo unveiled a package of benefits for government and private-sector workers, including salary loans, low-cost housing and scholarships.Labourers in Indonesia rallied across the sprawling archipelago, including the capital, Jakarta, where they called for safer working conditions, a doubling of basic wages and tax exemptions for low-income families.”Workers unite,” protesters chanted at the heavily guarded Presidential Palace.”We can’t be defeated.”Police said about 21 000 officers, some armed with batons and shields, patrolled the streets of the capital.Union leader Dita Indah Sari said the government of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono “has failed in creating jobs and improving the welfare for workers.”About 42 000 people participated in a rally against widening income inequality in Japan at a May Day event in a central Tokyo park, according to Kyodo News agency.Smaller rallies were organised by labour unions in 374 cities and towns across Japan.Japan has been confronting a widening income gap as its economy emerges from a decade-long economic stagnation, challenging the country’s view of itself as solidly middle-class and egalitarian.In Singapore, opposition leader Chee Soon Juan, head of the Singapore Democratic Party, and his sister, completed a 55-hour walk around their tiny island-nation in a bid to raise awareness of poverty and underpaid workers.In the South Korean city of Changwon, workers from North and South Korea played a friendly soccer match in front of about 2 000 people.Each side included workers from the divided states.In tightly controlled North Korea, the official Rodong Sinmun newspaper said in an editorial that the country’s workers and citizens were united in their will “to bring about ceaseless surge in the building of a great prosperous powerful nation” under the leadership of the country’s ruler Kim Jong Il.Nampa-AP