Figure 5.20: Percentage of workers who received Covid-19 support from various sources

Access To Covid-19 Related Relief Efforts

95% of the workers reported that they were able to access some form of relief/support during the Covid-19 crisis.

• The government’s income and food support came as a major relief for garment workers. 92% of the workers reported they received monetary support and 36% received food support from the government.

• However, support from other sources were low. This also shows that employers largely abdicated their responsibility for the well-being of garment workers during the Covid-19 crisis. The lack of support from other sources made workers extremely dependent on government relief, which in itself was inadequate to meet their basic needs.

Figure 5.20: Percentage of workers who received Covid-19 support from various sources

Figure 5.18: Percentage of workers who received Covid-19 support from various sources, 2020 100 92%

rs rc entage of W or ke Pe 80

60

40 36%

20

0

1% 0% 1% Monetory Support 4% 7% 6% 8% 8%

0% 1%

Provisions Health Care

Factory Government NGO/Charity Trade Union

Source : Primary Data n = 390

The Covid-19 crisis has worsened in 2021 and the government has imposed partial and regional lockdowns known as Restriction on Public Activities (locally referred to as Pemberlakuan Pembatasan Kegiatan Masyarakat or PPKM). Garment factories are allowed to operate, provided they obtain permits to do so. However, workers report that suppliers have flouted health and safety protocols, endangering the well-being of workers and their families.

In February 2021, the government announced that employers can pay workers below the minimum wage levels based on agreement with unions, provided the enterprise employs at least 200 workers and the percentage of labour cost is a minimum of 15% of the production cost.12 This is likely to give way to a further downward pressure on wages and worsen the spatial disparities in wages between different regions in Indonesia.

In a bid to attract foreign investment, the government has continued to flexibilise labour relations through promoting Fixed Term Contracts and increasing work hours as part of the rollout of the Omnibus Job Creation Law. Brands continue to take advantage of these policies and they have not yet stepped forward to address the impact of wage theft faced by garment workers in Indonesia. As a result, the most vulnerable workers continue to bear the disproportionate costs of market fluctuations and deregulation of labour laws amidst a raging pandemic.

1 Fibre2Fashion. (2020, May). Indonesian textiles industry likely to pull through global pandemic. Retrieved from https://www.fibre2fashion.com/industry-article/8679/indonesiantextiles-industrylikely-to-pull-through-global-pandemic?amp=true

2 Business and Human Rights Centre. (2020). Indonesia – Impacts of Covid-19 on Indonesia’s garment sector. . Retrieved from https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/ from-us/covid-19-action-tracker/indonesia/

3 Indonesia Investments. (2021, May 11). Textile and Garment Industry of Indonesia; More than Just Clothes, but Challenges Persist. Retrieved from https://www.indonesiainvestments.com/news/todays-headlines/textile-and-garment-industry-of-indonesia-morethan-just-clothes-but-challenges-persist/item9405

4 Jackson, J., Judd, J., & Viegelahn , C. (2020). The supply chain ripple effect: How COVID-19 is affecting garment workers and factories in Asia and the Pacific. International Labour Organization. Retrieved from https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---asia/--ro-bangkok/documents/briefingnote/wcms_758626.pdf

5 Ibid

6 Decent Work Check (2020). Corona Factory Survey Report – General Comparison. https://decentworkcheck.org/company-overviews/garment-factories-in-indonesia/garmentindonesia-data-visuals-covid-19-impact

7 Fibre2Fashion (2020). Indonesian textiles industry likely to pull through global pandemic https://www.fibre2fashion.com/industry-article/8679/indonesian-textilesindustrylikely-to-pull-through-global-pandemic

8 Ibid

9 KPMG (2020). Indonesia: Government and institution measures in response to COVID-19. Insights. https://home.kpmg/xx/en/home/insights/2020/04/indonesiagovernment-and-institution-measures-in-response-to-covid.html

10 Rahman, D. (2020, August 11). Government expands wage subsidy to include 3 million furloughed, reduced pay workers. Retrieved from https://www.thejakartapost.com/ news/2020/08/11/government-expands-wage-subsidy-to-include-3-million-furloughedreduced-pay-workers.html

11 Asia Floor Wage Alliance (2021). Garment Workers under Threat from Labour Deregulation in Asia – A Review of recent Labour and Employment Law changes in Cambodia, India, Indonesia and Sri Lanka. Retrieved from https://asia.floorwage.org/wpcontent/uploads/2021/03/Labor-Deregulation-Asia-March-2021-Final-Draft-24-March.pdf

12 Fair Wear (2021, May 17). Covid-19 impact and responses: Indonesia. Fair Wear’s Covid-19 Dossier, Retrieved from: https://www.fairwear.org/covid-19-dossier/workerengagement-and-monitoring/country-specific-guidance/covid19-indonesia/