inp.polri.go.id - Jakarta. The Minister of Manpower, Yassierli, believes that the sustainability of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) determines the future of millions of workers and job creation in Indonesia.

"If companies cannot survive,  people’s prosperity will never be secure," he said, as reported by Antaranews, Thursday (1/29/2026).

Minister Yassierli linked the role of SOEs to the national unemployment rate. Data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) shows that by August 2025, the number of unemployed people in Indonesia will reach 7.46 million.

According to him, SOEs that do not grow and are not sustainable will exacerbate this problem. Conversely, strong SOEs can be a major pillar of job creation.

"If SOEs grow, unemployment definitely can be reduced. If not, the opposite is what is going to happen," he explained.

He further assessed that the challenges facing SOEs in the future are increasingly complex, starting with the disruption of artificial intelligence (AI) and the transition to green industry, which have the potential to significantly alter the structure of employment if not managed properly.

"This change is inevitable. But if it is mismanaged, workers will be the ones that will be the most affected," he said.

Therefore, Yassierli asked labor unions within SOEs to not only focus on wages and welfare issues, but also to play a role in maintaining the company's sustainability.

"Unions must help keep businesses alive," he explained.

Furthermore, he also asked labor unions to take a more strategic role as dialogue partners in the transformation process. The goal is to ensure that change is fair and does not sacrifice workers.

As a concrete step, Yassierli added that another contribution that trade unions can make is that they can obtain productivity expert certificates in line with the National Productivity Movement (GPN) currently being developed by the Ministry of Manpower.

(ad/fa/pr/rs)