"One of the steps that the government can take is by providing salary subsidy and tax cut for corporations that do not conduct work termination," Riefky told ANTARA here on Wednesday.
The economist opined that work termination was inevitable amid the extension of Public Activity Restriction (PPKM) Level 3 and 4.
"I feel like the increasing work termination is natural, given the fact that PPKM was extended. Other countries under lockdown are also experiencing increasing incidents of work termination," Riefky noted.
To this end, he elaborated that work termination was normal on the back of economic activities failing to proceed as normal amid the pandemic.
Hence, given the limited fiscal condition, Riefky admitted to it being too expensive for the government to prevent work termination.
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In addition, he believes that if work termination were to be blocked, then this would pressure companies that could push them to the brink of bankruptcy.
To this end, he noted that the real solution lies in the application of a strong social safety net policy, so that citizens, who were terminated, can still meet their basic needs.
The economist believes that the government should currently focus on allocating stimulus for programs, such as social aid and the Family Hope Program (PKH).
Riefky additionally highlighted the option to move terminated workers to a different sector.
However, he believes this step is implausible since that form of totalitarian state-assignment was not how Indonesia's manpower market system worked.
"Meaning that the government cannot push workers to move from one sector to another, not to mention the fact that their skills may not be compatible for the other sector," he pointed out. Related news: wage subsidy recipients use aid for daily needs during pandemic: govt
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Translator: Baqir Alatas, Fadhli R
Editor: Suharto
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