Ahead of May Day, Workers' Wages Viewed as Part of a Long System in the State

JAKARTA — Economic observer and Vice Rector of Paramadina University, Handi Risza, explained that workers’ wages do not operate independently but form part of a long chain within the national system. “Workers’ wages do not stand alone; they are a long chain of an existing system in the state, connected to politics, law, and of course, the economy,” Handi stated while serving as a speaker at the talkshow “May Day and Hopes for Welfare through the Presence of a New, More Just Employment Law,” organised by the Labour Division of the PKS Central Executive Board in Jakarta on Wednesday (22/4/2026). He elaborated that workers’ welfare does not solely focus on wage increases. Inflation, economic growth, and the quality of growth serve as the main variables in determining wages. “What we need to safeguard and monitor together is not just improving or raising workers’ wages, but how to produce economic policies that are pro-people, pro-workers, pro-society,” he said. He added that synergy between labour policies and economic policies will determine the success of welfare improvements. “Thus, this will correlate positively: labour policies that are pro-workers and economic conditions that support them, which is where we can ultimately improve welfare and wages based on our current real economic conditions,” he explained. The event was also attended by Special Staff to the Minister of Manpower Indra, President of the All-Indonesian Confederation of Workers’ Unions (KSPSI) Andi Gani Nena Wea, KSPSI General Chairman Muhammad Jumhur Hidayat, and Secretary of the Labour Division of the PKS Central Executive Board Muhammad Rusdi.