Indonesia Needs to Optimize benefits from AEC Labor Market: ILO

Jakarta (Antara) - Indonesia needs to optimize the benefits from the labor market in the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), such as increase employment, wages, and productivity, noted the International Labor Organization (ILO). According to a new study titled "ASEAN Community 2015: Managing Integration for Better Jobs and Shared Prosperity" that was launched by ILO and Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Jakarta on Wednesday, the introduction of AEC in 2015 can generate 14 million additional jobs and improve the livelihood of 600 million people living in the region. The ILO Assistant Director General and Regional Director for Asia and Pacific Yoshiteru Uramoto remarked that the member states will be able to garner the benefits only if decisive action is taken to manage it effectively, such as developing policies and institutions that will support inclusive and fair development. "Ultimately, ASEAN's plan for greater regional integration will be judged on how much it benefits ordinary working men and women in the region," Uramoto noted. To counter development inequality, there is an urgent need to improve the quality, coverage, and sustainability of social protection, starting with the establishment of a social protection floor for all. Thus far, ILO has recognized the Indonesian Government's policy of national insurance scheme to guarantee social protection for all people, which was managed by the Social Security Management Agency.(*)