TEMPO.CO, Surabaya-East Java Governor Soekarwo said that the provincial government would provide trainings for the laid-off wokers including those in Panasonic. "We will give skill training to help them," said Karwo, Soekarwo's nickname, to Tempo on Wednesday, February 10, 2016.

According to Karwo, the training is necessary and very important since the laborers that were being laid-off still need to have other source of living to survive. "We will do our best to help them," said Karwo.

Meanwhile, Head of Workforce, Transmigration and Demography Department of East Java, Sukardo, said that this year they would train 7,500 of laid-off workers.

Regional Budget (APBD) will be used to fund the training and it will be held in four to five days.

The work training will be tailored with the expertise that the laborers had during their service at their previous employers. The government would also cooperate with Small and Medium Enterprises Bank (Bank UMK) of East Java to grant capital loans for laborers to start their own business. "We would train and give them support," he said.

Sukardo explained that he has yet to receive the report on companies who are going to close their business and companies that has laid-off its workers. “We only have Panasonic data which has laid-off 800 workers in 2015.”

EDWIN FAJERIAL