From this data, it is important to prevent the transmission of COVID-19 in the workplace. Hence, K3 is important to become a reference in business continuity during the COVID-19 pandemic that will enter the endemic phaseJakarta (ANTARA) - Manpower Minister Ida Fauziyah expressed belief that the work safety and health (K3) norms are an important key to business continuity during the COVID-19 pandemic that will enter the endemic phase in the country.
At the closing ceremony of the International Labor Organization (ILO) project here, Tuesday, Fauziyah's speech read out by Director of K3 Testing Development of the Manpower Ministry, Muhammad Idham, noted that as compared to February 2021, the number of members of the workforce had increased by 4.2 million people to reach 144.01 million people during the same period this year.
Although some employment sectors, such as the agriculture, forestry, and fisheries, experienced an increase in the percentage of employment, there were still other sectors, such as services, that experienced a decline, according to Idham.
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The number of workers in the informal sector increased to 81.33 million people, an increase of 0.35 percent as compared to that recorded in 2021, he added.
"From this data, it is important to prevent the transmission of COVID-19 in the workplace. Hence, K3 is important to become a reference in business continuity during the COVID-19 pandemic that will enter the endemic phase," the minister conveyed as read out by Idham.
At the closing ceremony of the ILO project titled "Improving COVID-19 Prevention in and Through the Workplace," she highlighted the need for stakeholder collaboration to implement K3.
She stated that various policies and programs during the pandemic, which had become the new normality of employment, should be implemented to help the workforce to remain productive without ignoring health protocols.
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"If this is realized, then it is very likely that the application of K3 will be able to have a significant impact on national economic recovery," she stated.
Earlier, the Manpower Ministry along with ILO and the Government of Japan collaborated to restore the employment sector by strengthening the K3 management system. The strengthening project has been carried out at 1,521 workplaces and reached 22,154 workers.
ILO's Director for Indonesia and Timor Leste, Michiko Miyamoto, affirmed that this achievement was the result of collaboration among stakeholders, including the government, business world, workers, and the younger generation.
"When we look back and look at the major achievements, we must also remember that this is part of the journey of governments, companies, workers, and young people to determine the safety of future generations and investments for business and society as a whole," Miyamoto stated.
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Translator: Prisca Triferna V, Resinta S
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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