Jakarta – The government moved quickly when the threat of layoffs began to shake the industrial sector and create anxiety among workers due to global economic fluctuations.
The launch of the Layoff Task Force (Satgas PHK) on May 1, 2025 is concrete evidence that the state is present to protect workers’ rights amidst the storm of corporate efficiency and global economic pressures.
President Prabowo Subianto emphasized that the Layoff Task Force will be the vanguard in maintaining national employment stability. The task force is designed not only to handle the impact of layoffs, but also to be a bridge connecting affected workers with new job opportunities.
“I think the form of the PHK Task Force, immediately involves the government, involves labor unions, involves the academic world, involves rectors, involves BPJS (Employment), and so on. One Task Force, we anticipate,” said President Prabowo.
This task force will carry out strategic functions, starting from recording and monitoring companies that have the potential to lay off workers, ensuring the fulfillment of workers’ rights such as severance pay and social security, to being involved in mediation, retraining (reskilling), and distributing workers to potential sectors that are still developing.
Director General of Industrial Relations Development and Social Security for Workers, Indah Anggoro Putri, said that the Layoff Task Force was designed as a proactive cross-sector effort in dealing with the threat of layoffs.
“We, the task force, together with ministries/institutions and stakeholders, are trying to mitigate layoffs and expand job opportunities,” said Indah.
This step has received widespread support from various labor union confederations such as KSPI and KSBSI, which from the beginning have pushed for the formation of the Task Force as a form of concrete protection for workers. They hope that the Task Force will not only be reactive, but also be able to anticipate potential labor crises early on.
Similar support came from the Director of the Center of Economic and Law Studies (CELIOS), Bhima Yudhistira, who called the formation of the PHK Task Force a positive step.
“In my opinion, the PHK Task Force proposed by the President is expected to have at least six main tasks,” said Bhima.
With the launch of the PHK Task Force coinciding with International Workers’ Day, it is hoped that this initiative will be a significant turning point in strengthening labor protection and preventing a domino effect of future layoff crises. [^]
