Laborers Hope for Prosperity

Prosperity is worth fighting for. Workers who fight for their rights and fulfill their obligations for the sake of a prosperous life deserve to be supported.

KOMPAS/TOTOK WIJAYANTO

Thousands of workers staged a peaceful demonstration to celebrate International Labor Day or May Day in the Horse Statue area, Jl. MH Thamrin, Jakarta, Monday (1/5/2023). Among other things, they demanded the repeal of the Job Creation Law and the passing of the Domestic Worker Protection Bill.

In commemoration of International Workers' Day on 1 May 2023, workers voiced their demands and hopes for their own and their families' prosperity. In Indonesia, tens of thousands of workers expressed a number of demands, including the cancellation of Law No. 6 of 2023 on the Establishment of Government Regulation in Lieu of Law No. 2 of 2022 on Job Creation becoming a Law. There are various issues criticized in the law, including low wages and outsourcing in all types of work.

The COVID-19 pandemic is subsiding. However, the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, high inflation in many countries and disruptions in food and energy supply chains are shaking the global economy. This has an impact on workers. The International Labor Organization (ILO) stated in its 2023 Flagship Report that global employment is projected to grow by 1 percent in 2023. This employment expansion is lower compared to 2022, which was at 2.3 percent.

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> Analyst at Indonesia Labor Institute

For Indonesia, which saw its economy grow by 5.31 percent annually in 2022, the situation remains difficult for workers. Global job layoffs have also occurred in Indonesia. Data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) shows that as of August 2022, there were 8.42 million unemployed people in Indonesia. Out of the 135.3 million working population, more than half or 59.31 percent were employed in the informal sector. The average monthly wage for workers/employees was around Rp 3 million.

KOMPAS/M PASCHALIA JUDITH J

President of the Confederation of Indonesian Trade Unions Said Iqbal (center) presented six demands in the 2023 International Labor Day Celebration Action in Jakarta, Monday (1/5/2023).

The employment absorption per Rp 1 trillion investment is also increasingly eroding. Based on data from the Coordinating Investment Board/Investment Ministry, investment realization in the first quarter of 2023 amounted to Rp 328.9 trillion with an employment absorption of 384,892 people. Thus, every Rp 1 trillion investment absorbs 1,170 people. This figure is lower compared with the first quarter of 2020, which absorbed 1,438 workers per Rp 1 trillion investment, and the first quarter of 2021, which absorbed 1,419 workers. In the first quarter of 2022, employment absorption plummeted to 1,129 people per Rp 1 trillion investment.

In the lives of workers, the story of employees being asked to resign and then rehired as contract workers is not a myth. The provisions for fixed-term employment are regulated in the Job Creation Law.

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> Employers and Workers Question Perppu

In his statement on International Workers' Day 2023, ILO director-general Gilbert F. Houngbo called for a global coalition for social justice. Houngbo also emphasized the need to restructure the economy, society and environment to create a more stable and fair future.

Prosperity is the desire of many people. Decent work that provides social security, a sense of safety and fairness is one way to achieve prosperity.

Hopefully, the negative stories of workers do not become more prevalent. On the contrary, let the beautiful stories color the world. Happy Labour Day.

This article was translated by Tenggara Strategics.