TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Labor Institute Indonesia has appealed to the government to step up capacity and competency of the labor force for better competing in the industry.

"The labor force should call on the government to offer facilities and infrastructure to step up their capacity for accessing better jobs," Labor Institute Indonesia Secretary Andy William Sinaga stated here on Wednesday.

Sinaga has appealed to the labor force to not solely direct their attention on traditional demands, including a hike in the minimum wage, but they should also direct their attention on improving the capability and competency of the labor force.

International Labor Day's commemoration on May 1 must serve as a momentum for Indonesian workers to contemplate on the readiness of human resources for honing their skill sets to compete in the fourth industrial revolution, he remarked.

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"The labor force should have job certainty in the face of concerns over losing their jobs since the plant was shut down or employers declaring bankruptcy," he noted.

Social protection must also be ensured to workers in the form of health insurance and work safety as well as access to affordable housing.

"The issue is that labor unions must ascertain the state's presence to offer suitable jobs for workers as outlined in article 27, sub-section 2 of the Constitution," he noted.

The eighth goal in the government's Sustainable Development Goals is the commitment to offering apt jobs towards realizing fair economic growth.

ANTARA