Labor Day, Gerindra Legislator: May Day Is a Turning Point for the Presence of the State

President Prabowo Subianto attends the Labor Day commemoration at Monas/ANTARA FOTO/BAYU PRATAMA S)

Member of the House of Representatives from the Gerindra Faction, Azis Subekti, said the International Labor Day or May Day is a turning point for the presence of state leaders to improve the system and provide justice for the community, especially workers.

"Every May 1, we are reminded of something we often miss: work is not just an economic activity, but the foundation of human dignity. International Labor Day is never really about ceremonies. It is a moment when the voices that are daily held back, in factories, on the streets, in production spaces, find their place in the public space," said Azis Subekti in his statement, Friday, May 1.

In Indonesia, continued Azis, the moment often repeats with a similar pattern, namely demands that are not entirely new, and hopes that have not been fully answered. However, according to him, this year there is one change in tone that should be noted, namely the conversation between Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and Labor President Said Iqbal ahead of May Day which then gave birth to a symbolic and political decision, namely the commemoration centered at the National Monument with a plan for the president's presence in the midst of the labor masses.

"This step does not solve the problem but shifts the distance. Monas, which has always been a representation of power, for a moment becomes a meeting space. And the presence of the head of state there, on a day full of demands, carries a message that cannot be ignored: the state chooses to be seen, and is therefore ready to be tested," he said.

"But the history of public policy always reminds: the most important presence is not the visible one, but the one who works," Azis added.

Azis said that over the past decade, the issue of employment has been moving in a tug-of-war that is not simple. The state is trying to maintain economic competitiveness and attract investment, while workers face a closer reality: inadequate wages, precarious work status, and inconsistent protection.

According to him, this tension is not an anomaly, but is a consequence of a development model that often puts efficiency in front, and justice behind. Here, said Azis, leadership is tested in the most substantive sense, namely the courage to set limits.

"Prabowo Subianto has expressed a commitment that development should not sacrifice workers. This commitment is important, but it only means if it is translated into a clear policy architecture, not just a partial correction, but a shift in perspective," said the Gerindra legislator from the Central Java District.

Azis said that the debate on the Employment Bill was the most concrete arena to test that direction. Whether regulations will continue to move in the logic of short-term compromise, or begin to assert principles that cannot be negotiated: decent wages, job security, and effective social protection.

"The balance between investment and labor protection is indeed needed. But the balance must not mean relativism, as if all interests could be exchanged without limit. There is a line that must be maintained, because that is where the state shows its character. If labor welfare is to be built seriously, the approach cannot be sectoral," he said.

Azis assessed that there were several things that the government could do. First, the wage structure must be linked to a real increase in productivity. This requires large investments in vocational education, industry-based training, and a more open labor mobility. Without it, according to Azis, wages will always be a debate, not a solution.

Second, the social security system must be expanded from merely a protection scheme to an instrument of life stability. Azis said, workers not only need assistance during a crisis, but certainty of risk, job loss, illness, old age, not directly dropping them into poverty.

Third, industrial relations need to be moved from the logic of conflict to the logic of institutions. Azis emphasized that social dialogue cannot depend on annual momentum such as May Day, but must be a routine mechanism, with trust as the foundation.

"And what is often overlooked: law enforcement. Good regulation loses its meaning when supervision is weak. At this point, the state is present not in rhetoric, but in consistent and uncompromising administrative actions. May Day is ultimately a silent test. It does not measure how hard the state speaks, but how far it hears, and more than that, acts," he said.

Members of Commission II of the DPR, which deals with domestic governance, assessed that the decision to focus the commemoration at Monas and the president's presence in the midst of workers gave an early signal, the distance could be narrowed. However, history will judge not from that moment, but from what follows: whether it becomes a door for policy reform, or stops as a political gesture that is quickly forgotten.

"The leadership of the state that is present is not the one that appears most often in the public space, but the one who is able to change the direction of policy with measured courage. He is not just calming, but improving. He not only responds to pressure, but builds a fair system before the pressure comes," said Azis.

In the midst of global economic changes, automation, and labor market uncertainty, Azis emphasized that Indonesia does not have much time to delay. The choice is simple, but the consequences are long-term, namely making workers a burden that must be suppressed, or as a development partner that must be strengthened.

"If the second option is taken, then May Day is no longer just an annual commemoration. It becomes a turning point, when the state is really present, not only on the field, but in the direction of the policies it determines. And that's where hope finds its form: not in promises, but in courageous and enduring decisions," concluded Azis Subekti.