JAKARTA - The Indonesian Textile Association (API) encourages the Government to oversee the implementation of PP Number 49 of 2025. According to API, this PP can be a double-edged sword that endangers workers and the business world.
API Executive Director Danang Girindrawardana said his party assessed that this rule could endanger workers and the business world, although the excuse used by the government was to maintain the purchasing power of workers or workers, but the government actually also maintains the durability of the business world.
"So, in essence, maintaining workers' purchasing power is important, but the resilience of the business world must also be considered. Because basically the employer is the business world, not the government directly, so if the government only pays attention to the interests of workers or workers unilaterally, then the business world will not be able to survive and eventually reduce the number of workers and then the impact will definitely be layoffs and absorption of labor. labor is getting lower," said Danang, quoted Saturday, September 20.
He added, so far the wage setting in Indonesia does not distinguish between types of industries. Between labor-intensive industries and technology-intensive sectors are two different dimensions.
On the other hand, he continued, the labor-intensive sector accommodates a large number of workers and is flexible with the availability of low-educated labor.
But the technology-intensive sector requires a selective workforce with higher education and in smaller numbers. Therefore, the government should be able to issue different policies for different sectors.
Meanwhile, regarding the labor-intensive textile and garment industry, specifically the textile association expressed mass concerns from textile and garment entrepreneurs.
Danang explained that there were three things that must be thoroughly considered by the Prabowo Presidential Government.
First, the 6.5 percent increase in workers' wages last year has resulted in the collapse of several national-scale textile and garment industries.
"Moreover, coupled with the increase later in 2026, how many more victims of the textile and garment industry will fall? The first victim is the workers, instead of getting an increase in income, they actually lose their livelihoods," he said.
Second, textile and garment products from imports will be increasingly rampant in the domestic market, this will hit domestic labor-intensive industrial products because there will be predatory pricing that the government will not be able to control.
"Textile and garment manufacturers will naturally be encouraged to reduce losses from the impact of rising production costs and flooding of imported finished goods," he said.
Regarding the problem of importing goods, he also mentioned that there were still regulatory gaps through the use of small-scale SMEs to trade and distribute imported goods widely in the domestic market with very minimal tax burden.
For example, through the final income tax scheme (PPh Final) of 0.5 percent for Taxpayers UMKM / Small and Medium Industries (IKM) with a turnover of up to IDR 4.8 billion per year, as stipulated in PP No. 23 of 2018.
Finally, Danang also criticized the delegation of setting the alpha value range of 0.5 to 0.9 to the Governor based on the input of the Regent/Mayor as a mandate of PP 46 of 2025. According to Danang, this delegative policy has the potential to re-politicize wages as part of practical politics for power, instead of being based on the interests of investment climate growth and the economy.
"This means that the central government is still weak in establishing a solid national policy in the politics of economic development of the country," he said.
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