Jakarta — The government is finalizing the plan to form a Termination of Employment (PHK) Task Force as a quick step to respond to the potential wave of mass layoffs in a number of national industrial sectors. This plan is a follow-up to the direction of President Prabowo Subianto, who pays serious attention to protecting workers amidst global economic pressures.
Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Airlangga Hartarto, said that the formation of this task force is intended to be a quick and concrete solution in anticipating and handling the threat of layoffs.
“We have discussed what the President directed regarding the task force related to layoffs and also job opportunities. Currently, we are finalizing the formation of the team,” said Airlangga in his statement in Jakarta.
According to Airlangga, the reciprocal tariff policy imposed by the United States on Indonesia is one of the triggering factors that needs to be watched out for. Based on calculations by the Confederation of Indonesian Trade Unions (KSPI), it is estimated that more than 50 thousand workers have the potential to lose their jobs in the next three months due to the impact of this policy on national export performance.
“So all of this is running in parallel and hopefully in a short time we can. Of course, we are looking for low hanging fruit in the form of policy packages that are easy to execute,” he added.
Airlangga emphasized the importance of anticipating the impact of foreign economic policies on the domestic industrial sector. He assessed that if not anticipated, the US tariff policy could reduce domestic industrial production, thus triggering a wider storm of layoffs.
The Director General of Industrial Relations and Social Security for Workers (PHI and Jamsos) of the Ministry of Manpower, Indah Anggoro Putri, welcomed this plan. According to her, the formation of the Layoff Task Force is a positive step by the government in reducing the number of layoffs.
“That’s a good idea. We’ll see what the task is later, we’re waiting for the Presidential Instruction and the President’s return,” said Indah.
Indah also emphasized that although there will be a task force, related ministries and institutions must still actively carry out mitigation and handling.
“Mitigating means preventing and then making efforts to handle it. So, yes, maybe it’s related to expanding job opportunities. Just wait,” he concluded.
The proposal to form a Layoff Task Force was previously submitted by the President of KSPI, Said Iqbal. He considered the existence of the task force very important to respond to potential layoffs as a direct impact of the US retaliatory tariff policy. Said hopes that the task force can help provide concrete solutions and prevent unrest among workers.
“Thus, this task force will play an active role in contributing if there is potential for layoffs. This task force is also expected to be able to suppress the potential for strikes if workers’ rights are not paid,” said Said.
Said also proposed that the task force be filled by various elements, ranging from business associations, labor unions, to representatives of the DPR, in order to be able to accommodate the interests of all parties. “We ask the President that in a layoff situation, workers’ rights are paid according to regulations. This task force plays a very important role,” he said.
With the formation of this Layoff Task Force, the government shows its seriousness in facing national employment challenges. It is hoped that this step will be able to maintain industrial stability while providing a sense of security for workers amidst global economic dynamics. [-red]
