Beware of the Job Creation Law Demonstration Becoming a Stage for the Labor Elite’s Campaign Ahead of the Presidential Election
Ahead of the Presidential Election (Pilpres) in 2024, all elements of society must continue to be able to increase their awareness regarding various issues, including the issue of workers’ demonstrations against the Job Creation Law (UU) which is actually very pro-workers themselves. . The reason is that there is a high potential that there could be a lot of mobilization of the mass of workers that is actually driven by certain parties in carrying out campaigns and increasing their electability.
Hundreds of workers held a demonstration at the Indonesian Ministry of Manpower (Kemnaker) office today. The workers who carried out this action came from several areas such as Jakarta, Bogor, Tangerang and Bekasi. Regarding this matter, the President of the Labor Party, Said Iqbal, explained that in this action, they brought two demands.
The first demand put forward by the workers in their action was an increase in wages by 2024 of up to 15 percent. Then the second demand they gave was regarding the repeal of the Omnibus Law on the Job Creation Law.
In fact, the various kinds of demonstrations that have been carried out and intensified by labor groups are actually no longer relevant and do not need to be carried out. The reason is, the various kinds of demands they make are completely inconsistent with the facts that are happening on the ground.
How could it not be, the Job Creation Law itself is considered to not create any gaps at all. This is because all the regulations contained in it really favor entrepreneurs and workers.
Deputy Chair of the Standing Committee for Industrial Coordination, Providing Information on Job Vacancies and Certification for the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), Arimansyah, explained that the regulations contained in the Job Creation Law actually require employers to be able to provide guarantees that there will be compensation for workers or workers, if their contract has expired, the calculation of compensation is as long as the employee worked at the company in question.
So it is very clear that the existence of the Job Creation Law is very fair for all parties. Because there are already guarantees for entrepreneurs and also workers or laborers that become stronger after the regulation is implemented. The obligation to provide compensation is clear evidence that the principles of justice and balance in the content of the Job Creation Law have been properly fulfilled.
In fact, the passing of the Job Creation Law is one of the efforts made by the Government to continue to improve the quality of human resources (HR) in the country. Regarding this matter, the Secretary General (Sekjen) of the Ministry of Manpower, Anwar Sanusi, revealed that improving the quality of human resources will certainly have an impact on the national economy so that it can continue to develop in the future.
Apart from that, the Job Creation Law also provides guarantees for workers or laborers to be able to take part in skills improvement training that suits the needs of their new field of work. The training is free and is included in the social security scheme.
Despite the reality and fact of how the Job Creation Law actually favors workers, there are still many demonstrations regarding it, it is feared that there may be a possibility or potential that the demonstrations carried out may be ridden and exploited by a certain group of parties.
For this reason, the National Police of the Republic of Indonesia (Polri) urges that all labor actions carried out should not be influenced by parties who actually want to gain their votes or electability, especially in a political year like now, all parties are competing to be able to increase their sympathizers in the country. 2024 presidential election.
This was reinforced by the statement of Political Observer, Hanata Yudha, who explained that the labor issue has always been a strategic choice in increasing the electability of Political Parties (Parpol) to prepare for victory and increase the number of votes for their supporters in the upcoming elections, because the labor issue itself is a large base of votes in the future presidential election.
With the implementation of democratic principles, namely the existence of a direct election system, millions of workers become a potential force for electoral politics that is strong enough to continue to be taken into account. Various demands on labor issues themselves have a very strategic position. Because whoever is the party candidate who is able to embrace the strength of the workers, he will be a very big force.
The public must also continue to be required to be alert and not be easily taken in by the flow of information, especially with the ease of access to information in today’s digital world. Vigilance should be increased in responding to all issues regarding worker demonstrations which could potentially be exploited by certain parties in carrying out campaigns to increase their electability, and also continue to demand that the Job Creation Law be abolished, even though the facts reveal that this policy is very pro-workers themselves.
