TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Darmin Nasution, commented on the May Day celebrations and the workers demands, stating that laborers are not the only ones that the Government is thinking about, on Sunday, May 1, 2016.
"We also have to think about those who has no access to employment, so we can't just meet every demands that they asked for," said Darmin. "We have to think - will this move create more jobs? That's what we're trying to figure out."
The Minister continued, "We also need to find a way to ensure that Indonesia is not caught up by the global economic slowdown. It's not like we're not doing anything - we're speeding up the construction of our infrastructures, we are allocating more capital to our Budget (APBN), we are doing our best to attract investments, and of course, we are readying our own human resources amidst the increasing competition."
At least 50,000 workers from various workers association has congregated in the Capital today, with workers from Bekasi, Tangerang, Depok, Bogor, Subang, Purwakarta, Karawang, and Seranf and Bandung marching from the Hotel Indonesia Roundabout to the State Palace.
The peak of the rallies will be held at the Gelora Bung Karno stadium where labourers will declare their demands, and called for the government to revoke Decree No. 78/2015 on Workers Remuneration. Among the issues being raised were the influx of foreign workers into Indonesia in strategic industries where Indonesian workers can still actually compete in.
ANGELINA ANJAR SAWITRI
