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The regency’s health agency head, Sri Enny Mainarti, declined to disclose the names of the three
factories but said they had 250, 220 and 71 cases, respectively.
Another factory had earlier seen dozens of cases in July and another one in May. They were LG
Electronics, motorcycle manufacturer Suzuki and automotive spare part manufacturer PT Nippon
Oilseal Kogyu. Other clusters were also reported by Unilever Indonesia and Japanese industrial
conglomerate Hitachi Ltd, according to media reports.

In total, Enny said 22 factories in the regency had reported COVID-19 cases among their workers
since the beginning of the pandemic.

In Tangerang, Banten, Mayor Arief Wismansyah told The

Jakarta Post that the administration had traced 43 cases in a cluster emerging from a factory
producing daily products from July to August. He also declined to disclose the company’s names.
Local administration officials have said the affected factory workers did not only live in the areas
where the industrial zones were located but also commuted from areas in Greater Jakarta.

Central Java and East Java have also reported clusters among their workers, amounting to some
300 cases in at least three companies in July for the former and more than 100 cases in two
cigarette factories in April and May, according media reports.

COVID-19 Response and Economic Recovery Committee Erick Thohir said during a press briefing
last week that factory owners must help curb transmission by following health protocols instead
of relying solely on the government, which he said had provided assistance by wage subsidies,
tests and health protocol campaigns.

“If [factory owners] don’t protect their workers, [choosing to apply] one shift [in a day] instead
of two just to pursue [more] income, then [companies must] be ready for the consequences. It’s
not impossible for the factories to be closed,” he said.

Inter-Factory Laborers Federation (FBLP) chairwoman Jumisih said there were still companies
that did not provide the necessary facilities for workers to follow health protocols, especially in
terms of social distancing. Hence, it was inevitable that thousands or hundreds of workers would
come across each other when entering or exiting their workplaces, or during break time.

Some factories had yet to divide shifts and even then, workers were concerned that if they did,
their companies would cut their pay according to their working hours, she said, adding that her
federation was collecting data on workers who failed to pay their rent due to the pay cuts.
Jumisih urged for tighter monitoring from manpower agencies.

“There are workers who only receive half or a third of their income. Who can survive with that
money? We need the government’s intervention in this. Workers who are afraid of coming to
work are afraid of being laid off and can’t bring food to the table, but those who come and are
at risk of infection also face pay cuts and can’t provide for themselves and their families,” she
said.

West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil visited an industrial area in Cikarang, Bekasi, on Friday, urging
companies to facilitate workers to follow protocols, such as by providing good air ventilation. He
said that if a local cluster emerged, factories must let their employees in exposed locations work
from home.
“Every factory worker is required to fill out a journal every morning detailing their activities
outside of the factory, as well as a list of everywhere they go outside of the factory,” Ridwan
said.

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