The Textile, Garment, Shoes and Leather Sector Trade Union Alliance noted that a number of workers continued to come to work despite being confirmed positive for Covid-19. They are forced to work because they are threatened with not being paid if they are absent due to illness.
Workers do not get guaranteed wages if they work from home or work from home (WFH) because their status is contract workers or casual workers.
Since Law Number 11 of 2021 concerning Job Creation was passed, many workers with permanent employee status have experienced termination of employment or layoffs and have been rehired as casual workers.
That way workers will only get paid according to the hours they work. Workers face high health risks with minimal insurance.
This is exacerbated by the existence of Omnibuslaw, the government has mistakenly implemented Omnibuslaw during the Covid pandemic as a result the state cannot protect its people.
President of the Confederation of Indonesian Trade Unions Said Iqbal said that the Covid-19 pandemic in the second wave is currently dominated by laborers who work in the manufacturing or fabrication industry sector.
“Manufacturing or this factory there are two categories: labor-intensive and capital-intensive. Therefore, the approach cannot be the same between offices and factories," said Said.
For the factory sector, it is not possible to work from home, it is different from office employees. Iqbal said that if they were in WFH, that would mean they were on vacation, so it would be more accurate to say that they were dismissed with a rotating work system.
"Based on the results of data and field facts found by KSPI, more than 10 percent of factory or manufacturing workers have been exposed to Covid-19," he said.
When tracing is carried out by the company and the results are positive, the worker inevitably has to be laid off. The problem is that the factory doesn't want to give the workers a day off because if it's closed, the factory will lose.
“Just a week off the factory employees will lose, especially in the labor-intensive sector. Because the production process can't be jump-started, everyone has to work, if you take turns, it can be shift one, shift work, shift 2, holiday, and so on," he said.
"This is exacerbated by the existence of Omnibuslaw, the government has mistakenly applied Omnibuslaw during the Covid pandemic. As a result, the state cannot protect its people, health cannot be protected, their welfare is exploited, and the people are increasingly difficult,” he said.
Iqbal also said that the Omnibuslaw rules have changed the rules for contract employees with daily contracts and wages calculated by the hour. So that's what makes the workers maintain their economy more than they take care of their health.
He also asked the government if you want to carry out an emergency PPKM then it is better to make social assistance for the people and there should be no misalignment between one minister and another.
“On the one hand, the Coordinating Minister for Investment and Maritime Affairs and the Minister of Manpower, you know, the Minister of Industry issues factory operating permits between 50 percent and 100 percent through IOM-KI. On the one hand, the Coordinating Minister said that PPKM was an emergency, on the other hand, the Minister of Manpower said that setting working hours was fine.
