Ida Fauziyah: Layoff Should be the Last Option

Ida Fauziyah highlighted the challenges faced by the government as well as the possible solutions to be taken to cope with the labor problems amid the surge in Covid-19 cases and the implementation of the PPKM Darurat

KOMPAS/ALIF ICHWAN

Minister of Manpower Ida Fauziyah gave a speech at the Coordination Meeting of the Heads of Provincial Manpower Offices in Indonesia on the Job Creation Bill in Jakarta, Thursday (20/2/2020).

Earlier this year, along with the easing of community activity restrictions, the Indonesian economy had begun to show signs of economic recovery. The wheels of the economy and the business world had started to move again. The country’s labor condition had also gradually improved. Statistics Indonesia (BPS) reported that as of February 2021, the number of working age population affected by the pandemic had declined compared to that in August 2020.

However, at the end of the second quarter of 2021, as a consequence of the easing of the social restrictions, the number of new Covid-19 cases rose again. The implementation of emergency public activity restrictions (PPKM Darurat), which is really needed to halt the spike in new Covid-19 cases, hurts the economy again.