Workers told to avoid rallies

Workers told to avoid rallies

JAKARTA: Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Jacob Nuwa
Wea called on workers to celebrate International Labor Day on May
1 in their respective workplaces instead of taking to the streets
or going on strike.

Jacob, who also chairs the Federation of All Indonesia Labor
Unions, said strikes or street rallies would only be
counterproductive. It was more important for workers to improve
their skills, which lagged behind those of their counterparts
elsewhere in Southeast Asia, he added.

The minister was commenting on a plan by some labor unions to
mark labor day with strikes and rallies in protest at the poor
labor conditions in the country.

However, Jacob said he would not ban workers from holding
rallies provided they had obtained permission from their
employers and provided prior notice to the police.

He dismissed demands to declare May Day a national holiday,
saying there were already too many holidays in the national
calendar. -- Antara