By: Edi Jatmiko)
The Covid-19 pandemic not only had an impact on public health, it also disrupted the economic system. President Joko Widodo said there would be various economic stimulus to companies that were committed not to terminate their employees.
The co-19 pandemic made some companies or industries forced to lay off their employees because of the general decline in public purchasing power. In addition, companies are also affected by work from home policies where people are encouraged to learn from home.
This is certainly a bitter news nationally, where the number of layoffs has jumped dramatically over the past 2 months, even though the employees will certainly pass the Eid-ul Fitr.
The government noted that there were 375,165 laid-off formal workers, 1,032,960 laid-off formal workers, 314,833 informal workers affected. A total of 1,722,958 workers were recorded.
Meanwhile, Member of the House of Representatives Commission IX Obon Tabroni, asked employers not to make the co-19 pandemic issue to terminate employment (PHK) and not pay holiday allowance (THR) benefits to their employees.
In West Java, Head of the West Java Provincial Government’s Manpower and Transmigration Office Mochamad Ade Afriandi explained, initially on March 27 it monitored 502 companies in West Java.
From the monitoring results, it is known that 86 percent or more than 400 companies claimed to have been affected by corona.
On different occasions, the Central Java Indonesian Employers’ Association (Apindo) reported that dozens of companies in Central Java temporarily halted the production process due to the corona virus or covid-19.
The Chairperson of Apindo in Central Java, Frans Kongi, said that the company was forced to stop production because it had been affected by the spread of the corona virus in the past 2 months.
Dozens of companies that stopped production were engaged in garment and furniture. One of the main obstacles faced by entrepreneurs is their dependence on imported raw materials, especially from China.
However, a breath of fresh air certainly still exists, where Indonesian President Joko Widodo firmly said, that the government would provide economic stimulus to companies that really did not terminate employment to their employees.
In a limited meeting on mitigating the impact of the corona virus, he requested that an economic program in dealing with the impact of the corona virus be implemented immediately.
Specifically for the economic stimulus policy of the government, the President also reminded that the stimulus be given to companies that did not lay off employees.
While for the pre-employment card program, Jokowi requested that the allocation be prioritized for workers who were laid off or laid off.
President Jokowi also requested that the stimulus program to be implemented in the regions be prepared with a clear, transparent and measurable scheme. So it is clear which sectors can get the stimulus in order to save workers from layoffs (layoffs).
Indonesian Vice President Ma’ruf Amin said that the economic stimulus policy was only given to companies committed to not terminating work relations, as part of the government’s six mitigation measures against the impact of co-19 in the employment sector.
Economic stimulus programs, including tax incentives, social assistance, and credit restructuring, must also be directed to prevent companies from laying off.
If there are workers who are affected by layoffs, Jokowi has asked the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs to involve layoffs as a priority to be given a Pre-Employment card.
At present in Indonesia there are 126.5 million workforce. Where as many as 70.5 million of them are informal workers, while 56 million others are formal workers.
Jokowi also requested that all workers, both formal and informal, obtain special economic stimulus for informal workers who are vulnerable to poverty and poverty, must be ensured to receive social assistance protection, especially for informal workers. The president also asked all informal workers to be included in the recipient of the social safety net.
Minister of Manpower Ida Fauziyah explained, the focus of the current government is to keep the workers / employees working and earning income, and to maintain the financial health of the company so that they can carry out their obligations to pay employees.
We all know that currently the economic conditions in Indonesia are indeed difficult, entrepreneurs are having trouble getting raw materials and sending their products so that it impacts on the company’s cash flow.
However, this is a test that must be faced. All government policies regarding co-19 mitigation certainly have good intentions so that we can all be free from the co-19 pandemic.
) * The writer is a citizen, active in the Press Circle and Cikini Students