Regarding The Job Creation Perppu, Ketum Apindo Hariyadi Sukamdani: We Are Not Invited To Talk About, Suddenly The Playing Isdefined Only

Apindo Chairman Hariyadi B. Sukamdani. (Theresia Agatha/VOI)

JAKARTA - The Indonesian Employers' Association (Apindo) admits that it was not involved at all in making Government Regulations in Lieu of Law (Perppu) Number 2 of 2022 concerning Job Creation which was recently issued by President Joko Widodo.

Apindo Chairman Hariyadi Sukamdani even said that his party was not included in the ratification of Permenaker Number 18 of 2022 concerning the determination of the Provincial Minimum Wage (UMP) in 2023.

"At the end of the year, we were surprised because there was a Perppu, but hopefully we can manage this surprise and bring goodness to all. When Permenaker was also not invited to talk, we were sad," said Hariyadi at a press conference in Jakarta, Tuesday, January 3.

According to Hariyadi, all relevant stakeholders should be invited to discuss by the government. Later, he said, the government does not need to take completely the votes of the employer or worker, however, the proposal is as input.

Meanwhile, the decisions taken, namely based on facts and data, deliberately have the best impact on the community.

"It's funny that we give jobs, we give salaries, we are not invited to talk, suddenly we just break up. As far as I know, no one else has been spoken to," he said.

On the other hand, Apindo also highlighted two important points related to the Job Creation Perppu, namely the issue of minimum wages and power transfer. Apindo thinks that the regulation regarding the minimum wage in the Perppu will cause shrinkage.

This is because the calculation of the minimum wage is based on three parameters, namely inflation, economic growth, and certain indexes.

"In fact, what is called economic growth is not necessarily linear with employment, 'why do we say it's not linear?' Because of supply and demand, how much workforce supply, how much demand do you want to accept," said Hariyadi.

Hariyadi then gave an example of economic growth in North Maluku which reached 27 percent or the highest in Indonesia. However, he saw that growth of that magnitude had not been able to absorb many workers.

"The impact on the investment is what we are concerned about. In our view, if all those who enter are capital-intensive, the investment quality is not good, because it is not felt by many Indonesian people," he said.

Meanwhile, according to Apindo, the regulation of power transfer in the Job Creation Perppu is now limited. This can be seen in Article 64 paragraph (2) of Perppu No. 2 of 2022 concerning Job Creation which reads 'The government determines part of the implementation of the work as referred to in paragraph (1)'.

"Many new skills will emerge, accompanied by many lost jobs. With new skills emerging, not all companies have the capability to fulfill these skills, so many companies are outsourcing," said Apindo's Regional Regulatory and Institutional Relations Committee member Susanto Haryono.

"Outsourcing is not for looking for cheap workers, but for skilled workers. This is the main message, because what we are facing right now is no longer looking for cheap workers, but skilled workers who make the company continue to be sustainable and efficient in carrying it out," he added.