TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Slamet Brotosiswoyo, chairman of the East Kalimantan branch of the Indonesian Employers Association, said that as many as 10,721 workers had been laid off. Slamet added most of them worked in mining, oil and gas companies.
"The figure was recorded at the end of last year by the East Kalimantan Manpower Agency," Slamet said on Friday, February 12, 2016.
According to Slamet, companies were forced to let go workers following global economic slowdown over the last two years. Coal and crude prices dropped to the lowest level in the last ten years.
"The majority of the workers were not local people, so the impact was not significant for the province," Slamet added.
Slamet believes that the actual number of laid off workers is higher than that on the agency's record. Slamet claimed that many mining companies were reluctant to report the number of their workers to the agency.
However, in early 2016, Slamet said that the number of layoffs began to decrease as business owners saw better prospect in oil refinery development projects in Balikpapan and Bontang that could absorb 25,000 workers.
Investors, Slamet added, had targeted industries that were not significantly affected by the global crisis, such as CPO and power plants. The two sectors became favorable following as coal and crude prices plummeted.
Apindo, Slamet revealed, would craft training programs for local workers based on market necessities, in a bid to meet demands from the industries.
S.G. WIBISONO
