PHK Amidst Covid-19
PHK or better known as “Pemutusan Hubungan Kerja” is a condition where a company or corporate fire their workers. The Pandemic outbreaks has made many, if not all, Indonesia’s company fire or temporarily force their workers to stay at home — some gave their workers monthly payments, while some didn’t.
How can “VUCA” defines this issue?
Volatility → The diversity of this current situations can’t be more clear, companies still working on one day, but permanently closed on the next; government issued a new policy, but retracts it on the following weeks;
WHO publish a certain safety protocol, but immediately changes them with the emergence of a new findings. All those things — directly or indirectly — affect how Indonesia’s companies respond towards this Pandemic issue, which in some endings, forces them to fire their loyal workers.Uncertainty → The everchanging situations and information regarding the closure or opening of Indonesia’s companies made it even harder for the people and workers plan and anticipate their next steps. Say, you were working on an airplane company — where your whole family depends on your income — when out of the blue, due to the extreme decline of passengers, your company started reducing their workers, and you are one of those people. You didn’t have time to prepare any countermeasure or alternative incomes which will results in a dire situation for your family economies. Those uncertain and unpredictable aspects is what gave this already terrible situations to become worse.
Complexity → This problem doesn’t concern only the people, but also the country as a whole. The Pandemic gave birth to all kinds of harmful policy for the majority of companies, their PHK forces the workers to be unable to feeds their family, works on a traditional market — which requires close contact activity, some even goes to the extreme by committing all kinds atrocities like robbery, murders, etc. An increase in close contact activities will increase the death counts, hospital will eventually be unable to accommodate the sick, the economy system will crumble, and the country as a whole will fall to ruin.
From the points mentioned, we can conclude that PHK, while on the surface seems to be a problem exclusive for the workers and their company, might not seem so.Ambiguity → There is actually little to zero relation about this aspect pertaining this issue, but if I want to say one, then it should be about how the government sees the current situation. I see 2 different pathways for the government, either they retracts all the social distancing policy — which will allow the economies to rotate once again, or they forcefully limits our movement and outdoor activities — which in the end will make the country’s economies stagnate and eventually the whole country won’t be able to fund their current operations. Which choices is correct? Only time can tell.
Why Is It Worth To Be Discussed?
Well, even without any kinds of reasons to advocate it, this issue on itself is something DEFINITELY worth discussing about. But let’s say that this is all parts of how things work in the world right now, let’s say that this kinds of things is normal in the current situation. In Indonesia, there is a certain law dictating that PHK can’t be done one-sidedly, it needs the agreement of both sides — regardless of the reasons. I know, the law also said that “On a situation that a company experience a ‘force majure’, they can one-sidedly fire their workers on a massive scale”. However, the company needed to gave their workers a final payment for their lifelong service. In reality, not many did that, and that’s why there is a lot of social demonstration happening across Indonesia demanding their right to be fulfilled by the company their working for.
What Now? What Can We Do To Mitigate The Situation?
I definitely can state various kinds of solutions or actions that we, as a millennial, can do. Ranging from the simple one, even to the extreme one. But on this essay I wanted to share an idea that’s been running amok inside my head. It goes by the name “JF Helper” or “JF”, what’s that?
It’s the abbreviation of “Job Finder Helper”, or “Job Finder”. As the name suggest it’s a project or a platform where all the existing or in progress to become companies in Indonesia — both small or big — record or enlist their data regarding current size, the field they’re delving into, vacant positions and their corresponding payments, requirements, and so on. After that, all the people around Indonesia can access all those information on our app installed on their smartphone. Imagine it, the people located far in the corner but have a mastery of skills can instantly apply to their preferred companies; the small and developing companies can attracts all the hidden and undeveloped talents, all kinds of scenarios can happen. I surely believe that this project can benefits both companies and the workers, which in the end will lead to the stabilization or even improvement of our economic conditions.