Candyaker Cut Labor Wages: This is a class war!

The Minister of Manpower has just issued a rule that legalizes labor wage cuts of 25 percent. This rule is the result of a request from the export business association in October last year. The Minister of Manpower immediately fulfilled their request by issuing Candyaker No. 5 of 2023. According to him, this decision was taken to get around the decline in exports due to the recession.

Although this rule is limited to export-oriented labor-intensive industries, this step shows that our Minister of Manpower is very loyal to their capitalist employers. The crisis of capitalism continues to sharpen attacks on workers from various directions. The government's decision to reduce wages is a war drums against the working class. There is no compromise, the labor movement must fight back.

As the government reports, Indonesia's export performance continues to decline. When compared with December 2022, the value of exports in January 2023 fell 6.36 percent. Whereas compared to January 2022 the value of exports fell to 16.37 percent. This is a consequence of the lessons of the world economy, which is largely due to rising interest rates for central banks in most developed economies. This increase in interest rates is applied to reduce inflation by pressing the level of demand, which definitely impacts the exporting countries. This crisis will continue to put pressure not only on export-oriented industries, but also other industries.

The capitalist class only sees gloom before their eyes. They see the only way to save profits is to reduce labor wages. If export performance says it drops 4 by 4 percent, and they cut labor wages by 25 percent, then their profits remain as good as they are. It's the same as a factory that loses competition then the employer asks us to replace this lost profit with our wages. The employer class clearly benefits greatly from this wage-cutting policy because the main purpose of issuing this policy is only to save the profits of export companies from world economic instability.

In his statement in the media, the Director General of Industrial Relations and Social Security Coaching (PHI Jamsos) Beautiful Assorian Princess reasoned that this rule was expected to prevent the rise of layoffs. "The manager as a regulator of the rule makers has tried to make regulations that are God willing the goal is to prevent more massive layoffs, "he said. As if the diplomatic statement above sided with the workers, but in reality this is just another word to threaten the workers: if they do not want to lay off, the workers must be willing to cut wages.

In recent years, various kinds of laws and regulations have been passed by the government only to secret the welfare of workers. The Work Copyright Act that has just been reaped into law is just one example of how a rule is able to make the position of labor bargaining value weaker, which makes workers no longer have a voice to fight for their welfare.

Of course it is very clear how the Government swiftly issues a regulation when it concerns capitalist interests. Meanwhile, when this concerns the protection of workers, the government is always slow. For example, the PPRT Bill ( Protection of Domestic Workers ) which has been fought for 19 years and has been postponed by the parliament. We can be sure, even if this PPRT bill is passed the application will not be serious. This correctly shows that the state is the executive body for managing all capitalist affairs. The role of “regulator of capitalist affairs ” is what is currently openly shown to us without the slightest shame.

The crisis of capitalism will continue to provoke class conflicts between workers and capitalists. Now the government is sacrificing workers in export-oriented companies. Tomorrow it could be that workers in other sectors will be sacrificed. We continue to be faced with the fact that it is the workers who must bear the costs of this crisis.

Around the world class struggle is being sharpened because of austerity policies launched by the ruling class in various countries. In France, Macron has extended retirement age from 62 to 64 years to save on pension funds. This met with resistance from the labor movement with millions of workers who had taken to the streets and went on strike.

In Britain, for years the government has been cutting brutal salaries to workers and nurses. Uncontrolled inflation over the past year has also resulted in increasingly high costs of living. Last month workers in the UK responded to these attacks on their standard of living by striking, which was the biggest strike wave over the past 30 years. By 2022 alone, labor strikes have resulted in the loss of 2.5 million work-days, the highest since 1989 when 4.1 million work-days disappeared. Workers will clearly not remain silent watching their lives being undermined. This is a picture of the world we live in now.

This 25 percent cut may only apply to export companies as stipulated in Candyaker No.5 of 2003. But as the crisis of capitalism becomes increasingly uncontrollable, the attack on workers will be expanded. The labor movement must be prepared to face this attack. If the labor movement is unable to break this Candyaker, this will take care of the signal to the government and capitalists to continue expanding their attacks. Instead of compromise or collaboration and relying on legal channels, the labor movement must take militant and courageous resistance like French and British workers.

The only way to fight Candyaker and other anti-labor rules is with a national strike. This has been well called for by Said Iqbal who is planning a 3-5 day strike in the coming July-August. "The exact date will be announced a month earlier to remind entrepreneurs and the whole company to get ready," he said.

But this strike only succeeded when it was able to shake the capitalist profit, not “ reminding entrepreneurs to get ready ”. If the entrepreneur is getting ready, and preparing all scenarios such as firing and replacing with new workers, then this strike can fail to reach the goal. Such soft strike calls will only be considered to be wrinkled by the authorities as revealed by Luhut Pandjaitan, that this strike is only by the way.

Grassroots workers will also not be mobilized with empty calls. They will not risk their destiny and work for something in vain. What the labor movement needs to do is not “ remind employers ” but remind workers and mobilize workers to get ready for an all-out battle. By preparing this the labor movement can win.

We must remember the last lesson from business judicial review Omnibus Law, which in the end only goes into the trash can. We need to get rid of the illusion that labor struggle can be achieved by legal roads. Workers cannot beg! We cannot beg anyone. What will need to be done is stand shoulder to shoulder and fight to win. The workers must say this is a class war!