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Sent to Manpower Minister Ida Fauziyah on Tuesday, the letter also addressed the potential of
a mass layoff among journalists at The Jakarta Post.

In August, the Post announced that it would lay off two-thirds of its employees in a bid to reduce
costs and ease financial hardship. After leaving its employees in uncertainty for months, the
company offered a voluntary resignation scheme on Oct. 12 with a severance package for
employees. This resulted in the departure of more than 20 journalists from the newsroom.

The organization further called on media companies not to use the health crisis as justification
for unjust treatment of employees.

“Journalists and media workers have taken a risk of getting infected by COVID-19 while reporting
in the field and going to the office to deliver news. Thus, they need to be helped,” the letter
states.

The Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) previously received a number of reports of media
companies that had cut wages, delayed salary payments and laid off employees, citing COVID-
19 as the reason for the cost-cutting measures.

In addition, at least 242 journalists have tested positive for COVID-19, according to AJI data
from March to September.

“The government should not let the COVID-19 pandemic kill independent media in the country,”
INFID chairperson Sugeng Bahagijo told the Post on Tuesday.

“For civil society, media like The Jakarta Post must stay afloat because their contributions go
beyond business. Media is for transparency, for balance that strengthens democracy.”

Sugeng further called on the government to provide easy access to financial relief for industries
impacted by COVID-19, as he deemed the current strategy too complicated. “If the ministry does
not respond to the letter, we will find a way to forward the message to the Finance Ministry and
to President [Joko] ‘Jokowi’ [Widodo],” he added.

Finance Ministry special staff member Yustinus Prastowo said that the government’s COVID-19
financial aid scheme was provided to all business sectors, meaning that media companies were
also entitled to the funding.

He listed several aid schemes including full exemptions from income tax payments for employees.

According to Finance Ministry data per Oct. 14, the government has prepared a Rp 120.6 trillion
(US$8.2 billion) stimulus to help businesses stay afloat amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

At the time of writing, the Manpower Ministry was unavailable for comment regarding the crisis
faced by the media industry amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

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