Parliament Questions President's Statements on Layoffs
8 October 2015 15:10 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta-Chairman of House Commission IX, Dede Yusuf, said he was surprised by the statement of the President Joko Widodo saying there are no layoffs, contrary to data of the Ministry of Labor.
"The words of President Jokowi about no layoffs in Indonesia is quite surprising, because according to data from the Ministry of Labor, clearly there are almost 45,000 workers laid off,” said Yusuf, on Thursday, October 8.
He also pointed to data from the Labor Social Security Agency (BPJS Ketenagakerjaan), that said hundreds of thousands of workers disburse their pension fund.
Yusuf said this was an indication that many workers have in fact being laid off and questioned what is the president’s basis of saying otherwise. He said the president’s aides and staff should provide correct data.
"But the point is, how can the government stop and prevent the wave of layoffs, so workers do not lose their income. Because purchasing power of workers should be maintained to keep the economy afloat," he said.
President Joko Widodo earlier asked his staff to report companies laying off employees in recent time, and said he was reported of no massive incidence of layoffs.
The president said companies that intends to lay off their employees are asked first to convey their difficulty to the Minister of Industry and head of the Investment Coordinating Board.
ANTARA