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