We believe in the spirit of deliberation and consensus; we can overcome the obstacles/challenges in every company.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Manpower Ministry has asked all parties to prioritize bipartite dialogue to prevent layoffs and assured that the government is ready to assist all parties in finding the best solution to the issue.

"Let's face the layoff issue appropriately by continuing to prioritize dialogue with related stakeholders, thus layoffs would become the last resort of a business crisis," director general of industrial relations and labor social security at the ministry, Indah Anggoro Putri, remarked in a statement issued on Wednesday.

The ministry and all Manpower Offices in provinces, districts, and cities will always be ready to assist both employers and employees in finding the best solution, she stressed.

Her office coordinated with other ministries and agencies, manpower offices, as well as related partners to monitor the development of the layoff issue across Indonesia.

Based on the coordination results,layoff was observed in several sectors—especially in export-oriented labor-intensive industrial sectors, such as garments, textiles, and footwear—although all parties had tried to avoid it.

"However, we still have to check this information with data from other ministries/agencies, including the Trade Office, Industry Office, and Manpower Office in each province and district/city," the director general said.

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The causes for the recent layofff cases have included uncertain economic conditions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, digital business transformation, as well as the uncertain global geopolitical situation, which has reduced the purchasing power of a number of Indonesia's export destinations.

To prevent an increase in the number of layoffs and industrial relations disputes, Putri said that her office will strive to encourage bipartite dialogue between business owners and labor unions.

"The dialogue aims to find common ground for problems at the companies, which may have an impact on layoffs and industrial relations disputes. We believe in the spirit of deliberation and consensus; we can overcome the obstacles/challenges in every company," she remarked.

She also urged industrial relations mediators at the Manpower Ministry as well as Manpower Offices in all regions to continue to assist discussions to prevent layoffs.

The offices must also continue monitoring the labor conditions in their respective regions and report them to the ministry, she added.
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Translator: Prisca Violleta, Uyu Liman
Editor: Suharto
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