JAKARTA. In response to dismal job figures, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has set up a new agency tasked with expediting the creation of employment.Yudhoyono said that the new outfit, the Job Creation Desk, would comprise high-ranking officials in relevant fields, and would be led by Coordinating Economic Minister Hatta Rajasa.“I have been tasked by the President to serve as the focal point in this matter and lead the Job Creation Desk,” Hatta told the press after a Cabinet meeting at the Presidential Office.The government’s target of adding 1 million jobs this year is unlikely to be met as according to data compiled by the government, only 500,000 new jobs were created as of November.This has added to ongoing concerns over the threat of widespread layoffs following the decision of several regional administrations to significantly increase minimum wages.President Yudhoyono gathered his economic ministers at his office on Monday to talk about job security and job-creation measures following the warnings of massive layoffs by the country’s employers’ associations.Among those attending the meeting were Hatta, Finance Minister Agus Martowardojo, Manpower and Transmigration Minister Muhaimin Iskandar, State-Owned Enterprises Minister Dahlan Iskan and National Economic Committee (KEN) chairman Chairul Tanjung.Hatta later said that membership of the desk had yet to be determined, pending the issuance of the presidential decree as its legal basis.“The primary task of this desk is to enhance our positive investment climate and promote labor-intensive sectors by providing fiscal incentives,” the minister said.Yudhoyono said he was committed to attracting investment despite concerns from the business community over the significant hikes in regional minimum wages across the country.The Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo) has warned that at least 10,000 workers could lose their jobs next year when the Jakarta administration implements the new minimum wage of Rp 2.2 million (US$229.05); a 44 percent increase.Apindo, along with other business associations are also preparing to file a lawsuit against the regulation governing provincial minimum wages for 2013 with the state administrative courts and the Constitutional Court.“We must work to protect those who are currently employed, whatever the situation is. That is the first thing we must be thinking about, in an effort to prevent substantial layoffs that would lead to a hike in the country’s jobless rate,” Yudhoyono told the Cabinet meeting.Yudhoyono also said that with the current unemployment rate of 6.9 percent, the country was performing better than most of the developed world, where unemployment had reached 25 percent in some countries.“However, it will be impossible to maintain this low unemployment rate if we don’t make an effort to create new jobs, as the number of working-age people keeps on increasing. Hence, we must improve legal certainty and infrastructure, and remove factors that may hamper a conducive investment climate, such as illegal levies,” the President said.Hatta said the government aimed for an unemployment level of 5 percent in 2014.Chairul, meanwhile, said the government’s decision to restart the recruitment process for government workers could help put a brake on rising unemployment.The government was considering hiring new civil servants next year but the details were yet to be determined, he added. Separately, Apindo said that while the government instructed the private sector to increase minimum wages, it should also raise the salary of civil servants, police officers and soldiers nationwide to comply with the rule.At present, the lowest ranking civil servants in several ministries are paid Rp 1.65 million per month, lower than the planned minimum wage for Jakarta of Rp 2.2 million.“The government should set an example by treating government officials in a similar way instead of just telling private firms to raise their minimum wages,” Apindo chairman Sofjan Wanandi told The Jakarta Post. (Bagus BT Saragih/ The Jakarta Post)
New task force created to deal with unemployment
JAKARTA. In response to dismal job figures, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has set up a new agency tasked with expediting the creation of employment.Yudhoyono said that the new outfit, the Job Creation Desk, would comprise high-ranking officials in relevant fields, and would be led by Coordinating Economic Minister Hatta Rajasa.“I have been tasked by the President to serve as the focal point in this matter and lead the Job Creation Desk,” Hatta told the press after a Cabinet meeting at the Presidential Office.The government’s target of adding 1 million jobs this year is unlikely to be met as according to data compiled by the government, only 500,000 new jobs were created as of November.This has added to ongoing concerns over the threat of widespread layoffs following the decision of several regional administrations to significantly increase minimum wages.President Yudhoyono gathered his economic ministers at his office on Monday to talk about job security and job-creation measures following the warnings of massive layoffs by the country’s employers’ associations.Among those attending the meeting were Hatta, Finance Minister Agus Martowardojo, Manpower and Transmigration Minister Muhaimin Iskandar, State-Owned Enterprises Minister Dahlan Iskan and National Economic Committee (KEN) chairman Chairul Tanjung.Hatta later said that membership of the desk had yet to be determined, pending the issuance of the presidential decree as its legal basis.“The primary task of this desk is to enhance our positive investment climate and promote labor-intensive sectors by providing fiscal incentives,” the minister said.Yudhoyono said he was committed to attracting investment despite concerns from the business community over the significant hikes in regional minimum wages across the country.The Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo) has warned that at least 10,000 workers could lose their jobs next year when the Jakarta administration implements the new minimum wage of Rp 2.2 million (US$229.05); a 44 percent increase.Apindo, along with other business associations are also preparing to file a lawsuit against the regulation governing provincial minimum wages for 2013 with the state administrative courts and the Constitutional Court.“We must work to protect those who are currently employed, whatever the situation is. That is the first thing we must be thinking about, in an effort to prevent substantial layoffs that would lead to a hike in the country’s jobless rate,” Yudhoyono told the Cabinet meeting.Yudhoyono also said that with the current unemployment rate of 6.9 percent, the country was performing better than most of the developed world, where unemployment had reached 25 percent in some countries.“However, it will be impossible to maintain this low unemployment rate if we don’t make an effort to create new jobs, as the number of working-age people keeps on increasing. Hence, we must improve legal certainty and infrastructure, and remove factors that may hamper a conducive investment climate, such as illegal levies,” the President said.Hatta said the government aimed for an unemployment level of 5 percent in 2014.Chairul, meanwhile, said the government’s decision to restart the recruitment process for government workers could help put a brake on rising unemployment.The government was considering hiring new civil servants next year but the details were yet to be determined, he added. Separately, Apindo said that while the government instructed the private sector to increase minimum wages, it should also raise the salary of civil servants, police officers and soldiers nationwide to comply with the rule.At present, the lowest ranking civil servants in several ministries are paid Rp 1.65 million per month, lower than the planned minimum wage for Jakarta of Rp 2.2 million.“The government should set an example by treating government officials in a similar way instead of just telling private firms to raise their minimum wages,” Apindo chairman Sofjan Wanandi told The Jakarta Post. (Bagus BT Saragih/ The Jakarta Post)