REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Manpower of Minister M Hanif Dhakiri has encouraged workers to assemble in such a way that their struggle to improve the welfare would run more effectively.

"I encourage labor unions in companies to become strong. Today, the number of labor union members has fallen drastically," he said, while attending May Day Festival at the Bung Karno Stadium, here on Monday.

Data from the Manpower Ministry show that the number of workers joining labor unions across Indonesia fell to 2.7 million in 2017 from 3.4 million in 2007. 

"Encouraging more and more workers to assemble must become our homework," he stated.

Hanif noted that the current labor movement is different from that of the previous years due to a change in political conditions.

"Workers' struggle must be different, creative, and innovative," he remarked.

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The minister revealed that by setting up labor unions, workers will find it easier to hold dialogs with their employers and struggle for their welfare.

He admitted that some employers do not want their workers to set up labor unions for fear that they could go on strike, he pointed out.

"We still have to make some companies aware of the importance of labor unions. But on the other hand, labor unions also have bad image not only in the eyes of their companies but also the general public," he added.

The bad image includes the notion that labor unions are identical to rallies, which sometimes cause traffic congestion, he explained.

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