Puan says the state must enhance worker protection during May Day

Jakarta (ANTARA) - House of Representatives Speaker Puan Maharani stated that the state must enhance protection for workers and be tangibly present for them in various sectors and professions during the International Labour Day or May Day 2026 commemoration. “May Day serves as a momentum to ensure that all workers in Indonesia receive their rights, including state-guaranteed protection,” Puan said in a statement in Jakarta on Friday. This year’s May Day commemoration, according to her, saw labour groups bringing 11 demands and hopes. Some of the workers’ demands include the abolition of outsourcing and rejection of low wages. Additionally, anticipation of potential large-scale layoffs (PHK) due to the Iran versus United States (US) and Israel war, the ratification of a new Labour Law, and the reduction of online motorcycle taxi (ojol) fees from 20 percent to 10 percent. “We hope the aspirations brought by fellow workers can serve as a reminder to the state, particularly the government, to enhance protection for workers,” she said. She assessed that reorganising outsourcing regulations, anticipating layoff threats, and strengthening protection for digital transport workers need to be read within the same framework. “That is, to ensure that changes in labour policies do not exacerbate uncertainty in people’s lives but instead improve welfare for workers,” she said. She also highlighted the threat of a wave of layoffs beginning to be felt in the national industrial sector due to global geopolitical conflicts. Labour groups, she said, estimate that 9,000 workers will be affected in the near future. “This is a warning signal that cannot be ignored. At this point, government policies are being tested. The target of creating 19 million jobs in five years will be difficult to achieve if the industrial foundation is not strengthened,” she said. Furthermore, Puan stated that all existing regulatory efforts ultimately aim at one thing: ensuring that working people still feel secure about their future and their families. “Because when job uncertainty increases, social pressures will be felt much more quickly at the family level. This is about household basic needs, children’s education, and various other living needs,” she said. She stated that the DPR will continue to monitor every policy for workers and push for improved welfare for all working people. In fact, the DPR recently ratified the Domestic Workers Protection Act (UU PPRT) for justice for workers in the domestic sector. “The ratification of the UU PPRT, coinciding with Kartini Day commemoration and close to May Day, we hope becomes a tangible form of struggle from the DPR for workers,” she said.