Exodus of Informal Workers Should be Anticipated

Informal workers in Greater Jakarta whose daily incomes have declined due to lack of work may go home to their respective villages. If not anticipated, it could further spread the COVID-19.

KOMPAS/TOTOK WIJAYANTO

A store attendant arranges a mannequin on Monday (23/3/2020) at a shopping center in Kuningan, South Jakarta, where most shops have posted notices of temporary closure. The decline in economic activities in Jakarta is expected to prompt migrant workers in the informal sector to return to their places of origin.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS - The decline in economic activities in Jakarta and the surrounding areas due to the COVID-19 outbreak may trigger an exodus of workers in the informal sector to their hometowns.

The central government and regional governments need to anticipate this possibility so as not to further spread the disease.