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Labor unions now synonymous with ‘troublemakers’: Minister
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Manpower Minister Hanif Dhakiri (center) launches six villages as “Desa Peduli Buruh Migran” or Care for Migrant Workers Villages (Desbumi) in East Nusa Tenggara. (JP/Djemi Amnifu)
M
embership of labor unions has decreased significantly to 2.7 million, as the image of unions is now synonymous with “troublemakers”, Manpower Minister Hanif Dhakiri has said.
During the reform era of the late 1990s, when workers joined students to topple authoritarian president Soeharto, worker participation in labor unions amounted to some 8 to 9 million, Hanif said on Tuesday.
"This low participation might be caused by the image of labor unions, which is [now] synonymous with 'troublemakers'. This can make workers feel reluctant to join unions," he said, adding that labor unions had positioned themselves as being in opposition to the government.
Many unions had emerged recently without building up strong consolidation, Hanif added, this situation could trigger discord among unions.
"The paradigm of the labor union movement has to be directed into partnership with the government. The unions do not have to be afraid in applying the partnership paradigm because there is equality in it," he said during the launch of a book titled "Quo Vadis: Sejarah Perjalanan Serikat Pekerja/ Serikat Buruh Indonesia" (Quo vadis: The history of Indonesian labor unions) in Jakarta.
To change the bad image of unions, Hanif suggested that they could adopt a cultural strategy to strengthen the union movement. "For example, in the celebration of Mayday, workers could create activities that have tourism potential. We can coordinate with the Tourism Ministry to realize this plan," he added. (rdi)
