6 Reasons Why Workers Doubt Ministry Of Industry's Claim Of Absorbing 303,000 Workers

Labor (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - The Labor Party, along with the Coalition of Trade Unions (KSP-PB), has questioned the Ministry of Industry's claim that employment will reach 303,000 people in the first half of 2025.

According to Said Iqbal, President of the Labor Party and also President of the Confederation of Indonesian Trade Unions (KSPI), this claim does not reflect the reality of the workforce, which is facing a wave of massive layoffs, particularly in the textile, garment, electronics, retail, mall trade, hotel, and other labor-intensive industries.

"This data is suspected to be merely 'just to please the boss' and is politically motivated, pretending that the labor market is doing well amidst the massive wave of layoffs in the real sector between January and June 2025. This is particularly true in the textile, garment, electronics, electronic components, retail, mall trade, hotel, and other labor-intensive sectors," Iqbal said in a written statement on Friday, August 8.

Six Reasons Why Workers Doubt Ministry of Industry Data

Iqbal stated six reasons to doubt the Ministry of Industry's data regarding the critical employment situation. First, the Ministry of Industry does not present data in tabular form regarding industry types, company names, employment figures, formal and informal sectors, and regions where employment occurred. In contrast, the KSP-PB presents a complete table of layoff data.

The second reason is that the Ministry of Industry's data contradicts that of the Social Security Agency (BPJS Ketenagakerjaan). BPJS recorded a decline in the number of participants from January to June 2025 due to layoffs. However, new formal workers should be registered immediately.

"If we follow the Ministry of Industry's line of thinking, the number of BPJS Ketenagakerjaan participants should increase by 303,000. Because every person working in the formal sector is immediately registered as a BPJS Ketenagakerjaan participant when they start work. But why does BP Jamsostek state that the number of participants decreased between January and June 2025? This is truly strange data," Iqbal said.

Next, Iqbal said, there is the potential for data mixing of informal sector workers. According to him, online motorcycle taxi drivers, part-time workers, or other informal sector workers may be included in the calculation, even though they do not receive social protection and a living wage.

"Clearly, if this is done, the Ministry of Industry's data is absurd and political, because the absorption of informal workers lacks social protection and is below the minimum wage. This raises suspicions that the 303,000 people figure is "just to please the boss" and political," he said.

Iqbal also stated that the Ministry of Industry's data is biased. He questioned the synchronization of the institution's data with the Central Statistics Agency (BPS). "When presenting the labor absorption data of 303,000 people, the Ministry of Industry used the BPS definition, which defines a person as someone who works one hour per week. If this definition is used, then the Ministry of Industry's data is biased," he said.

Furthermore, the Ministry of Industry's data is considered contradictory to the facts on the ground. For example, the riots and the surge in job seekers at various job fairs prove the difficulty of finding work.

Iqbal did not deny that foreign investment has entered Indonesia and injected capital into the shoe industry. However, the absorption of large numbers of workers is certainly done gradually, not all at once.

"There are indeed shoe industries operated by foreign investors from Taiwan, Korea, and China that absorb large numbers of workers. Even a single company can absorb thousands of workers, but they do so in stages over several years," he explained.

"It won't be a massive job creation in just one semester because the shoe industry needs to build new factories and invest in new machinery gradually over the next three to five years," Iqbal continued.

This is why the Labor Party is urging the government to present transparent, measurable, and unbiased employment data. Iqbal emphasized that the reality on the ground shows that layoffs continue to occur.

"This July alone, there were 600 layoffs at PT MKI Tegal, 200 planned layoffs at PT Kirio Bekasi, and 87 layoffs at PT Sinarup Jaya Utama Bogor. The workers' rights to these layoffs have not yet been paid," he said.