Rizal urges action to prevent industries from leaving RI<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Coordinating Minister for the Economy Rizal
\nRamli has asked the related ministries to take immediate action
\nto prevent foreign electronics and shoe manufacturers from
\nleaving the country.<\/p>\n
Rizal said on Tuesday that he had instructed Minister for
\nIndustry and Trade Luhut Pandjaitan and Minister for Manpower and
\nTransmigration Alhilal Hamdi to address the problem.<\/p>\n
\"I have asked the minister for manpower to meet with the heads
\nof labor organizations to come to an understanding that will
\nsatisfy both investors and labor unions,\" Rizal said following a
\nmeeting with the House of Representatives' special committee for
\nthe amendment to the central bank law.<\/p>\n
Rizal was responding to newspaper reports that a number of
\nmajor shoe and electronics manufacturers were considering moving
\ntheir operations out of Indonesia on fears of labor disputes.<\/p>\n
Fifty textile companies were reported to have already moved
\npart of their production activities to Vietnam and Cambodia.<\/p>\n
Secretary-general of the Indonesian Footwear Association
\n(Aprisindo) Djimanto said that most of the foreign shoe
\nmanufacturers were no longer interested in establishing new
\ninvestments here.<\/p>\n
He said foreign investors feared they would be unable to meet
\norders because of the uncertainty in deliveries.<\/p>\n
Aside from the frequent labor conflicts, political instability
\nhas caused several large companies to stop expanding in
\nIndonesia.<\/p>\n
According to him, because of their more disciplined workers,
\nThailand, China and Vietnam are currently favored for investment.<\/p>\n
He criticized the Indonesian labor movement as too unruly.<\/p>\n
Since the reform era in 1998, local labor organizations have
\ninstigated numerous strikes and demonstrations against local and
\nforeign companies.<\/p>\n
When negotiations falter, most labor unions resort to strikes
\nto force the management to bow to their demands.<\/p>\n
Before they would have risked confronting the police who were
\nless tolerant of protesters.<\/p>\n
But Rizal added that the workers would suffer the most if
\nstrikes and demonstrations prompted foreign industries to abandon
\nIndonesia.<\/p>\n
\"If investors leave Indonesia, the ones loosing their jobs are
\nthe workers,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Rizal said that some foreign investors preferred to move their
\noperations out of Indonesia because their companies here still
\ndepended heavily on imported material for production.<\/p>\n
The shoe industry, he said, provided Indonesia with an added
\nvalue of only between 5 percent and 10 percent because of its
\nhigh dependence on imported raw material.<\/p>\n
\"So even with a minor labor problem, they (investors) prefer
\nto reallocate,\" he explained.<\/p>\n
Rizal also said that locally made spare parts should be made
\nmore attractive to investors in order to reduce the country's
\ndependence on imported ones.<\/p>\n
According to him, improving the quality of locally made spare
\nparts would help encourage investors to retain their operations
\nhere. (bkm)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/rizal-urges-action-to-prevent-industries-from-leaving-ri-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}