President congratulates RI workers on labor day

Antara News, Saturday, May 1, 2010 22:48 WIB

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Saturday congratulated all workers in Indonesia on the occasion of Labor Day, May 1.

He conveyed his greetings at a lunch with the management and workers of PT Toyota Motor Manufacturing Indonesia at the company`s plant in Karawang, West Java.

In his speech before the lunch , the President expressed the hope that the country`s economy would continue to grow so that businesses would progress and thus also be able to improve the welfare of workers.

"I have instructed all regional leaders, district heads, mayors and provincial governors to make Labor Day an event that brings goodness not only to workers but to all community members by improving cooperation and cohessiveness between workers and government officials," he said.

The government, he said, would work hard so that those who had work could continue working and improve their welfare without fear of being laid off.

He said the government would also keep creating job opportunities to reduce the number of unemployed people.

"These are two things the government and all of us will struggle for," he said.

He appealed to workers to maintain high productivity so that their companies could progress and not go bankcrupt.

To companies he said he hoped if they made more profit they could share it with their workers so that their welfare would improve.

Yudhoyono called all parties to shun violence, destructive acts and strikes that would only hurt all parties, namely the workers themselves, the companies and also the state.

"If there is a problem, the management, unions and workers had better meet to solve it. It is better than torching, destroying and getting angry," he said.

He said the government was aware of the importance of creating stable political conditions, security and good economic policies to make the real sector advance to support economic growth.

Thousands of workers took to the streets in the capital city on Saturday to mark the event.