TEMPO.CO, Karawang - The beginning of 2016 in Karawang has been marked by mass lay-offs by companies, and the Head of Karawang's Manpower and Transmigration Agency, Ahmad Suroto, Said that there is a possibility that the trend may worsen as the year progresses.
"Since January 2016 began, the number of people who got laid off has reached around 1,500 individuals, said Suroto to Tempo on Wednesday, February 10, 2016. Suroto himself claimed that he is utterly dumbfounded by the trend, and blames the increased minimum wage in Karawang regency in 2016 as the cause of the lay-offs.
"Companies cannot afford to pay their workers, especially now that sales are slipping, while their cost of operations are ballooning," he said. "Truth be told, the increase of minimum wage is to blame for the lay-offs."
To anticipate the trend from worsening, his agency holds regular self-employment start-up courses, but the efficiency of the program is highly questionable. "Workers are just not interested, so we try to court unions to help us socialise the project," said Suroto, who also explained that workers who got laid off often do not reside in Karawang, so many often chooses to return home, or seek employment elsewhere.
"They come and go depending on the availability of work, and as such, we are unable to calculate the actual number of workers who participate in our courses and programs," continued Suroto, who said that he prefers to establish training programs in these workers' area of origin, which he hopes will reduce rural unemployment rate. "We are trying it out in 10 villages with 200 participants," he said.
It must be noted that there is a significant discrepancy between job-seekers and available jobs in Karawang. According to Suroto, in 2014, there were only 13,000 vacancies, while job-seekers figures were as high as 25,000 individuals. "The majority of Karawang regency residents could not fulfil the requirements set by companies, so the jobs were mostly taken by more competent workers from elsewhere," he said.
HISYAM LUTHFIANA
