CORE urges strengthening of the Lay-offs Mitigation Task Force to curb lay-off risk

Jakarta — The Center of Reform on Economics (CORE) Indonesia, a research institution, has urged strengthening the Lay-offs Mitigation Task Force to dampen the risk of employment termination that could rise amid global pressures. In its latest report titled The PHK Storm (Not Yet Over), cited in Jakarta on Wednesday, CORE argues that the Lay-offs Mitigation Task Force should be strengthened and function as an early warning system to read labour market conditions more quickly.

“The Lay-offs Mitigation Task Force needs to be strengthened as an early warning system through three sharpened mandates that combine early upstream detection with certainty of safety nets downstream,” the report said.

This strengthening should be achieved through real-time data monitoring, ranging from BPJS Ketenagakerjaan claims, industry capacity utilisation, job vacancy indices from digital platforms, to monthly reporting of working hours from a sample of firms in labour-intensive sectors.

This step should also be followed by the establishment of cross-ministerial rapid response for companies that begin to experience cost and cash-flow pressure.

CORE also emphasised the importance of ensuring that the Job Loss Protection (JKP) programme is delivered optimally to workers who meet the contribution period requirements.

The benefits of JKP have themselves been strengthened through Government Regulation Number 6 of 2025, comprising a cash amounting to 60 per cent of salary for up to six months, training, and access to job vacancy information.