[hanomantoto]

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – Indofarma Workers Union held a protest attended by 300-500 people at Pakarti Holding Center, the Presidential Palace, and Ministry of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs), Jakarta, on Wednesday, November 6, 2024. They requested President Prabowo Subianto to intervene and save PT Indonesia Farma (Persero) Tbk. or Indofarma, which has for months failed to pay its employees. 

“We are holding this protest to urge President Prabowo Subianto to pay attention to Indofarma in the first 100 days of taking office,” said the Chairperson of the Indofarma Workers Union, Meida Wati, to Tempo on Wednesday.

According to Meida, Minister of SOEs Erick Thohir’s idea for Indofarma to focus on herbal medicine manufacture was not appropriate due to the company’s inadequate capacity and time constraint.

As a result, Meida and hundreds of other workers have not received clarity from the company management about their status at Indofarma. For three months, the workers have not received any wages, and, later, a meagre Rp1 million. 

Meida underscored Prabowo’s government’s direct intervention to save Sritex. Meida said Indofarma is also deserving of such clear mechanism as another SOE.  

This was Indofarma’s workers third time protesting. During the three demonstrations, the management only informed the protesters about the resizing of the company while awaiting the debt payment postponement (PKPU) cassation process. The cassation verdict will only be issued in December.

Minister Erick Thohir previously claimed to have discussed the measures to support Indofarma with several private entities, including by ensuring the availability of raw materials. “But it isn’t finalized yet,” said Erick Thohir on Friday, November 1, 2024.

Erick Thohir said Indofarma needs to improve its financial condition. After the availability of raw materials is guaranteed and production is running, Erick Thohir hopes Indofarma can export 50% of its production results.

Furthermore, Erick Thohir emphasized the importance of the check and balance process to ensure business sustainability. He believes that SOE supervision cannot be solely done by the Ministry. He wants private entities as well as strategic and financial partners to participate in the supervision. “I think (check and balance) is a very effective method for SOEs today and in the future,” he said.

Hammam Izzudin contributed to writing this article.

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