Warta Ekonomi, Bandung - 

Lately, there have been many viral videos circulating about the world of work that are very contradictory. These videos depict the sadness of thousands of company employees who have worked for years and were laid off because the company closed.

“Sad to see it all. These companies are labor intensive companies which of course number thousands of employees per company, not hundreds. "In fact, videos of workers' demonstrations are circulating demanding wage increases above PP 51/2023," explained the Chair of the West Java (Jabar) Indonesian Employers' Association (Apindo) Ning Wahyu Astutik in his official statement, Sunday (10/12/2023).

Ning assesses that West Java Province has the highest investment realization compared to other provinces with an investment value of IDR 174.58 trillion or around 14.46% of the total national investment in 2022. So, with multi-helix and professional collaborative management, not only West Java is Champion, but Great West Java, Extraordinary West Java, West Java Blessings will be achieved and sustainably maintained.

"But there has been a decrease in labor absorption per 1T of investment compared to previous years. This is due to the fact that incoming investors are more capital intensive with digital technology and automation," he said.

Various labor-intensive industries are located in cities or districts with relatively high wages, thus triggering many relocations to other areas with more competitive wages and supporting infrastructure thereby reducing production costs, for example to Central Java.

As for companies that were unable to survive, they closed permanently. Some examples of companies that closed and chose to relocate outside West Java, namely PT Dean Shoes Alas Kaki Karawang, PT Besco Indonesia Alas Kaki Karawang, PT Manito World Garment Sukabumi District, PT Eins Trend Garment Purwakarta, and PT Simone Accessary Collection (Cicadas) Garment Bogor .

West Java APINDO hopes that regional heads in West Java really understand this situation so they can collaborate with stakeholders to convince entrepreneurs not to relocate. If this happens, the government suffers losses, workers suffer losses and entrepreneurs suffer many difficulties.

"I emphasize more on creating conduciveness in the business world, including certainty and compliance with laws regarding wages. So the development that the President has carried out very well in West Java now, can be carried out evenly in areas where wages are still competitive, so that entrepreneurs do not relocate outside West Java," " he stressed.

For this reason, West Java must transform into a capital-intensive, digital and high-tech industry. However, currently, the highest number of workers and job seekers with an educational background are elementary school graduates, followed by SMA/K, SMP, and College. So, in this period of transformation, labor-intensive industries are still very much needed.

So, West Java APINDO is ready to help the government map human resource (HR) needs in various industries that invest in West Java.

"Labor-intensive industries themselves have extraordinary competition, not only between countries and even between provinces, especially regarding wages," he said.

Ning also said that it was time to focus on tourism, the creative economy and MSMEs. However, everything requires a process, and has not been able to absorb the workforce laid off by labor-intensive industries.

"Focus on developing human resources, so that they will be able to work in the industrial sector with digital systems and high technology, which is now starting to enter West Java," he said.

To make this happen, continued Ning, of course there must be collaborative action from all elements involved. Starting from the Government, entrepreneurs and other stakeholders.

"West Java's potential is extraordinary, but it must be managed well, through multi-helix cooperation so that it can achieve goals as expected, towards West Java being a Champion, West Java a Blessing, West Java Great, West Java Extraordinary," he concluded.

(SOURCE)