Investigating Prabowo-Gibran's Promise for Workers' Welfare

It appears written in a quote format because it aims to convey the message that the issue of labor is one of the concerns of the Prabowo Subianto-Gibran Rakabuming Raka duo, who were appointed by the General Elections Commission as the elected president and vice president on April 24, 2024.

In this publicly-accessible vision-mission document, the use of the word "worker" is not particularly prominent. There are only five instances of the words "worker" and "workforce" in the document.

Of the five key points, one key that appears to be a form of commitment from this couple towards workers' welfare is in the phrase "to increase the purchasing power of workers and provide basic needs to improve workers' welfare."

The phrase becomes the key and answer to the commitment of the Prabowo-Gibran pair if they are asked what they promise to improve the welfare of workers. Increased purchasing power is the key for workers to move up the economic ladder and achieve prosperity.

In addition to the issue of welfare represented by the sentence above, the improvement of labor and their families' capacity is also a concern of this couple, although not specifically for labor. This can be seen in the work program that provides scholarships for the children of farmers, fishermen, teachers, and laborers to continue their education to the S-1 to S-3 levels.

The issue of capacity building through education has also been campaigned by vice presidential candidate Gibran Rakabuming Raka when attending the celebration of the 51st Anniversary of the All-Indonesia Workers Union (SPSI) and the 8th Anniversary of the Alliance Movement of Workers Union (Gesper) East Java at Gelora Delta Stadium, Sidoarjo, East Java on January 28th.

Gibran mentioned that besides improving prosperity, the issue of occupational safety, especially for women, and education for workers' children so they can achieve a bachelor's degree, will be a focus of the Prabowo-Gibran pair in their future government.

"So, once again, we will pay special attention to wage issues, severance pay issues, work safety issues, children's education issues," said Gibran (Kompas, 28/1/2024).

Scholarship programs, including for the sons and daughters of labor families, signify that this is also an inseparable part of the commitment of the Prabowo-Gibran pair to improve the quality of life for workers.

If from an economic perspective, purchasing power is increased, then from a social aspect, an increase in education levels must also be pursued, especially targeted towards the children of workers to have the opportunity to experience vertical mobility, both economically and socially.

Apart from the issue of increasing capacity, the Prabowo-Gibran pair also targets things that have been hindering efforts to improve people's livelihoods, including for laborers. This is evident from the commitment of this pair to eradicate corruption in sectors that have a correlation with improving the livelihoods of many people, one of which is the labor sector.

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Diction "worker"

In addition to the term "workers", the content analysis of Prabowo-Gibran's vision and mission document also employs the term "employees". At least the number of words for "employees" is relatively more than that for "workers".

If referring to the issue of workers in this document, the Prabowo-Gibran pair is more concerned with regulations or rules that support efforts to improve the welfare of workers and their families.

A number of efforts that Prabowo-Gibran will undertake during their government term from 2024 to 2029 include encouraging companies to employ workers aged 18-24 as permanent employees through insurance premium subsidies for workers for 12 months.

This effort is a long-awaited promise for many workers who are currently still interns or contract workers. Because, of course, their welfare guarantee is still below that of permanent employees or workers.

This issue is not new either. During the 2019 Presidential Election campaign, Prabowo Subianto signed 10 political contracts with the Confederation of Indonesian Workers Unions (KSPI).

One of his political contracts was to promise that if he was elected President of Indonesia for the 2019-2024 period at that time, Prabowo would abolish the outsourcing system. Now, this issue also appears in the vision and mission document, although it does not explicitly eliminate the outsourcing system.

Additionally, Prabowo-Gibran also pays attention to the workers in the creative industry by enforcing laws and regulations concerning copyright and intellectual property. Therefore, those who work as artists, musicians, performers, art workers, book writers, and researchers will be valued optimally and able to enjoy improved welfare.

For the issue of artists, Prabowo-Gibran are also committed to providing capacity-building programs through increased budget allocation and expanding cultural exchange programs at the international level. These efforts are aimed at strengthening networks, collaborative insights, capacity, and skills for artists.

One promise from Prabowo-Gibran to laborers and workers is to revise pension scheme outlined in Government Regulation No. 45 of 2015, including the amount of contributions and benefits.

Also read: The History of May Day, Rooted in Labor Resistance in the United States

Labor Day

In the end, all commitments, promises, and programs aimed towards laborers, workers, and their families will be more meaningful if they can all be realized during the upcoming Prabowo-Gibran administration.

The commemoration of Labor Day May 1 is a marker that workers have an annual momentum to remind all stakeholders that workers' welfare is still homework.

Prabowo and Gibran, who are also experienced in the business world that touches on laborers and workers, are expected to better understand the hopes and grievances of laborers. History records how labor's strength consistently fought for their rights and was present in the midst of societal problems.

It is no wonder then that the Indonesian government once tried to prevent laborers from taking the stage in celebrating Labor Day. This particularly happened during the early years of the New Order era.

In the daily report Kompas April 20 1968 appeared the title "Labor Day May 1 Abolish". In the news, it was stated that the government considered workers to be synonymous with communists. Therefore, eliminating holidays which was a policy of the Soekarno era was a strategic step to cut off the old power.

As time goes by, workers are an entity that cannot be separated from society, so Labor Day not only serves as a reminder of the many problems in labor issues, but also a reminder that this is also related to the quality of our society's life in general.

The commitment of Prabowo-Gibran in improving the welfare and capacity of workers will become a "debt" owed to the community to be collected in the future. All of this is done so that the day when workers can sleep peacefully because their income is sufficient can be felt immediately. Happy Labor Day. (KOMPAS RESEARCH)

Also read: Labor, Holidays, and Political Struggle