However, they did not lay off all their workers as they are anticipating new orders. “Right now, around 20 garment and textile companies have closed. They don’t report to the government because they will be asked to pay severance payment. There is a company with 1,000 workers, they are told to come to work alternately, but they just clean up the factory, do some repainting, etc,” he added.
“They are being inactive, waiting for orders. If there are orders, they will resume operations again. Workers who were previously laid off, can be called to work again if they haven’t found new jobs,” said Redma.
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Furthermore, he advised the government not to be fooled by export data because for the Indonesian textile factories with link to global brands, this does not reflect the real conditions.
According to him, the government can see the fact by looking at BPJS (social security) premium payments and declining electricity usage. Redma also pointed out that another reason for the layoff is the influx of imported textile and garment products. Thus, he hopes the government can do more to protect domestic textile market. (un)