Destroyed Bus Entrepreneurs Forced To Sell Scrap Metal To Pay Employee Salaries Because They Couldn't Get Help During PPKM

Illustration. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - The government has re-implemented the policy policy of Enforcement of Community Activity Restrictions (PPKM) level 4 in Java and Bali until August 9, 2021. This condition has an impact on limited transportation activities. As a result, the transportation industry has taken various ways to survive, one of which is by selling scrap metal.

Business Development of the Otobus Company (PO) Safari Dharma Raya, Marissa Leviani said that the low occupancy coupled with the ban on going home for Eid this year made financial flows dwindle.

This condition, said Marissa, is exacerbated by the absence of incentives for entrepreneurs to maintain business and avoid termination of employment (PHK) of employees during the PPKM period.

"When asked how the condition is, now we have sold the scrap metal from my bus. That is to pay employee salaries and obligations to banks and pay taxes," he told reporters, Tuesday, August 3.

Despite experiencing very difficult conditions, Marissa chose not to lay off workers. According to him, ways to sell scrap metal and several other assets have been carried out since the beginning of the year to maintain the business.

Even though the results are still lacking, Marissa said, they can still be a source of funding to survive in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Not only that, business diversification efforts are also carried out by opening logistics services that have been initiated since last year. Again, said Marissa, this effort has not yet been able to have a significant impact on increasing business because of the lack of orders.

"It's quite helpful (business) but it's still a minus, indeed everything is still lying down. Our tour bus is already lying down, if it's like this, schools don't have tours, people want to go on pilgrimages, they can't either," he said.

According to him, in determining policies for handling COVID-19 in the future, the government must consider the business world. This is because so far the government has only focused on making restrictions without hearing input from entrepreneurs, especially in the land transportation industry sector.

There is still no assistance provided, either for the employers or the workers. Meanwhile, the government demands only that there are no layoffs without a clear solution.

"What we hope is that in making the regulation, please help us to review how it affects business or other industries and how it impacts the economy in these industries," he said.