Prabowo's May Day Gift: Ratification of ILO Convention on Seafarers

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto presented a gift to workers on the occasion of May Day today in the form of the ratification of an international convention on seafarers. Prabowo stated that he had signed a Presidential Regulation on the Ratification of International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention No. 188. “There is another gift for workers. I have just signed Presidential Regulation No. 25 of 2026 on the Ratification of International Labour Organization Convention No. 188 to ensure protection and welfare for fishing vessel crew,” Prabowo said at Monas, Jakarta, on Friday (1/5/2026). According to him, for the first time in Indonesia’s history, fishermen are being cared for by the state. “Next year, we will open 1,500 fishing villages. The following year, another 1,500, and the year after that, another 1,500,” he explained. Prabowo noted that fishermen have long struggled without refrigerators or cold storage to store their catches. “What has been difficult for them, they go to sea without ice; now we will build ice factories in every fishing village. We will also help with boats for them,” he added.