Unemployment could seriously threaten elections<\/p>\n
Ridwan Max Sijabat, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Manpower and Transmigration Minister Jacob Nuwa Wea said on
\nFriday that the number of unemployed people would increase by
\nabout 2.5 million to over 45 million this year.<\/p>\n
He added that the millions of unemployed could pose a serious
\nthreat to political stability and the elections if no measures
\nwere taken to help cope with it.<\/p>\n
"Most of the newly unemployed will be young people, mostly
\nelementary and high school dropouts as well as university
\ngraduates who will not be able to find jobs," he said during a
\npress conference on the 2004 labor situation here.<\/p>\n
The unemployment problem has reached an alarming level because
\nof the 42.7 million unemployed workers, 10.8 million were in the
\ncategory of full unemployment and 31.9 million in the disguised
\nunemployment category (informal sector or part-time workers).<\/p>\n
Jacob called on political parties not to manipulate the
\nunemployment situation during the election campaign to prevent
\nviolence and to maintain political and economic stability, saying
\nthat the jobless were definitely a group that is vulnerable to
\nprovocation and political chaos prior to and during the
\nelections.<\/p>\n
"The government actually is not worried about the political
\ncondition during the elections because there are still many
\npeople who do earn a good living and enjoy life," he added.<\/p>\n
Indonesia will hold its main legislative election on April 5
\nand the direct presidential election on July 5, with a possible
\nrun-off on Sept. 20.<\/p>\n
Jacob said that besides his own programs at the Manpower and
\nTransmigration Ministry, he had been coordinating with other
\nfellow ministers to help solve the unemployment problem.<\/p>\n
"I have signed MOUs with the tourism minister, agriculture
\nminister and maritime development minister to put on the table
\nall problems in carrying out programs to absorb the unemployed in
\nthose three sectors.<\/p>\n
He said the Agriculture Minister would prepare labor intensive
\nsocial safety net projects, the Tourism Ministry would provide
\ntraining programs for workers who will eventually be employed in
\nthe tourism sector while the Maritime Development Ministry would
\nprovide nets and vessels so people could work as fishermen.<\/p>\n
He, however, did not hazard a guess about how many of the
\nunemployed could be absorbed in the three sectors.<\/p>\n
The minister said the government would continue to develop the
\nlabor export and the labor placement at home to help reduce the
\nunemployment rate to a minimum.<\/p>\n
"The Manpower and Transmigration Ministry has set a target of
\nsending around one million workers to the Middle East and Asia-
\nPacific region this year and resettle thousands of others in
\npalm-oil plantations at home," he said.<\/p>\n
Chairman of the Indonesian Employers' Association (Apindo)
\nSofjan Wanandi expressed his great concern over a possible
\nunemployment explosion this year, saying the unemployment rate
\ncould reach 50 million this year because many manufacturing and
\nforestry companies would have lay off their employees due to a
\ndearth of new international manufacturing orders and a
\ngovernment-lowered logging quota.<\/p>\n
Labor observer Bomer Pasaribu said he was skeptical that the
\ngovernment would be able to ease the unemployment problem because
\nof the Indonesian workers' low bargaining position and the long
\nelection season.<\/p>\n
"In addition to increasingly scarce labor opportunities,
\nIndonesian workers were unable to compete with those from the
\nPhilippines, Vietnam, China and Thailand when it comes to working
\nin Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, South Korea and the Middle East.
\nIndonesian workers have no other alternatives but to enter the
\ninformal sectors which are prone to labor abuses. And violence
\nagainst Indonesian workers will continue overseas because most of
\nthem will only be able to get jobs in the informal sector," he
\nsaid.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/unemployment-could-seriously-threaten-elections-1447893297",
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