Manpower Minister confirms task force working to mitigate potential layoff waves

Manpower Minister Yassierli has confirmed that the Layoff Task Force is working to mitigate potential job losses across various sectors. “The Layoff Task Force is already in place, so that is where we provide an early warning for sectors that have the potential for layoffs,” Yassierli said when met at the Parliament Complex in Senayan, Jakarta, on Monday. “The task force also discusses cases that require intervention,” he added. He further explained that the process for companies to carry out layoffs is quite lengthy, allowing the task force, led by Minister of State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi, to carry out mitigation and mediation between the parties involved. “The stages of layoffs are long. There are initial reports, reports that need to be verified, cases where we encourage bipartite resolution first, and then cases that require mediation, and so on,” Yassierli explained. The Bandung Institute of Technology professor cited an example of how layoffs in a labour-intensive sector, caused by high industrial gas prices some time ago, were successfully prevented. “In some cases, when there is an issue, for example the recent scarcity and high cost of gas, the Layoff Task Force immediately stepped in,” he said. Furthermore, Yassierli said the Manpower Ministry is also actively pursuing efforts to prevent layoffs, improve the skills of retrenched workers, and enhance the capabilities of the young workforce through various strategic programmes. “We have the National Internship Programme, the National Vocational Training Programme, and certification. We see that these programmes can actually be further optimised to prepare the competencies of our human resources,” the Manpower Minister stated.