VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The government will consider providing assistance to workers or corporations to address the wave of lay-offs that is sweeping the country, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati has said.

"We will look at which instruments can be assisted and who will be helped, be they the corporations or their workers," she informed during a press conference on APBN KITA (Our State Budget), which was followed online from Jakarta on Thursday.

She said she will discuss a policy mix to deal with the lay-off wave with various parties, including Bank Indonesia (BI), the Financial Services Authority (OJK), the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, the Manpower Ministry, and the Workers Social Security Agency (BPJS Ketenagakerjaan).

If there is agreement on the provision of assistance to laid-off workers, the government will consider whether it will come from the Manpower Ministry or BPJS Ketenagakerjaan, the minister informed.

Meanwhile, if the assistance is provided to corporations instead, then the government will consider whether it will take the form of income tax relief or deferred income tax payment.

The minister said the wave of lay-offs has resulted from, among other things, controls on imports of goods such as textiles, textile products, and footwear in several developed counties, coupled with an aggressive increase in key interest rates.

"As we look at, it affects exports not only from Indonesia but Vietnam and Bangladesh as well," she noted.

She said that textile and textile product exports came under pressure in October 2022, while footwear exports remained quite good.

Therefore, the government will keep monitoring all data on the related corporations, including their imports of raw materials, exports of products, and income tax and value-added tax payments and refunds, she added. (Antaranews)