Pinning Hopes on Textile Industry

KOMPAS/ABDULLAH FIKRI ASHRI

Workers of PT Harapan Global Apparel buy meals from sellers around the factory during their break in Sukaraja Wetan village, Jatiwangi district, Majalengka regency, West Java, on Monday (11/2/2019). In the past five years, the textile industry and textile products have targeted Majalengka. Apart from Kertajati West Java International Airport, labor costs in Majalengka are also cheaper than in Bandung, Bekasi and Karawang.

The prospects of West Java’s textile and textile products (TPT) industry are being tested. Prospects are bleak at its old home, while the industry is gaining acceptance in its new home. The industry needs more support to give hope to many.

The entrance of the PT MSJ factory in Cimahi, West Java, was deserted on Monday (Feb. 11, 2019). Only a few motorcycles passed by, while several people with grim countenances stood in front of the factory.

Fahmi, 34, was among them. He had worked five years at the factory. Three months ago, the factory’s contract of work expired and it closed its operations, leaving 1,300 workers in limbo. Its production cost was high, which included employee wages. “After I was laid off, I have come here every day, waiting for the payout from the Workers Social Security Agency [BPJS Ketenagakerjaan],” said Fahmi.

At a monthly salary of less than Rp 3 million, Fahmi did not know how much he would receive from the BPJS Ketenagakerjaan. He estimated that he would receive less than Rp 10 million. He planned to use the money to finance his businesses in his hometown of Garut.

Fahmi did not know what to do, whether to go back to a factory job or not. “Opportunities for workers my age are very limited,” said the high school graduate.

The mass layoff at PT MSJ has made workers at other companies anxious. “There are certainly concerns, even though there are no signs of [other] layoffs right now,” said Tati, 35, who works at PT GMP, located some 300 meters from PT MSJ.

The workers don’t have many options amid the problems Cimahi’s TPT industry is facing. A company’s continued operations depends on its owners.

“The workers only struggle to make sure their rights are fulfilled. It’s impossible to force [the companies] to reopen,” she said.

Departures

Around 24,000 workers in the West Java textile industry have lost their jobs in the past two years. There are a variety of problems. The business owners have often cited high workers’ wages, tight competition from imported products and potential waste management costs as the main issues.

The West Java Manpower and Transmigration Agency’s 2018 data illustrates the bleak outlook for this labor-intensive industry. Nineteen companies across Karawang, Cimahi and West

Bandung have gone out of business. In order to keep their doors open, nine other companies have left the region, while five other have relocated from Karawang to Central Java.

The regional minimum wage (UMK) is one of the main causes. Three West Java regions have a minimum wage of more than Rp 4 million in 2019. Karawang regency has the highest UMK at Rp 4.23 million.

Four TPT factories in Karawang have decided to remain in West Java, although they have relocated to other regions that have a lower minimum wage. With a UMK of Rp 1.79 million per month, Majalengka is a popular option.

West Java Textile Association chairman Jusak Sulaiman said that closing a factory was never easy. It would incur high costs from mass layoffs. If there are 1,000 workers, a factory closure would require tens of billions of rupiah. “We need the government to overcome this critical problem,” he said.

In contrast to the gloomy business environment in Cimahi, the outlook is bright in Majalengka. Outside PT Harapan Global Apparel in Jatiwangi subdistrict, for example, the area just across the street from the factory gates resembled a crowded market, full of people milling about.

At the midday lunch break, hundreds of workers rushed to the various food stalls across the street. “I sell 100 [meal] packets a day,” said stall owner Runiah, 48, who makes around Rp 500,000 every day.

The textile factory has caused a resurgence of human activity in the area. The area was once home to roof tile factories. However, the crowds disappeared five years ago when the roof tile factories began closing one by one. “By [selling food to] the crowd [of workers] in this area, I can send my three children to school. One of my children is now working on a thesis,” said Runiah, who has been selling in the area since 1991.

Hope

Majalengka is in a honeymoon phase. As the old industrial area in West Java was becing abandoned, 10 TPT factories opened their doors in Majalengka. In addition to Harapan Global Apparel, PT Leuwijaya Utama Textile and Shinwoo Mulia have also opened shop in Jatiwangi. Most recently, PT LYG Garment Indonesia built a 14,686-square-meter factory in Kasokandel subdistrict in May 2018. The new factory was like a magnet, attracting residents from Majalengka to Sumedang to Cirebon.

Investment development head Ridwan M. Ramdhani of the Majalengka One-Stop Integrated Investment Office said the textile industry was flourishing in the subdistricts of Sumberjaya, Kasokandel, Dawuan and Jatiwangi to absorb more than 21,000 workers.

The regency administration had established a TPT industry cluster on 125 hectares in the villages of Palasah and Mekarjaya in Kertajati subdistrict. The cluster is about 7 kilometers from Kertajati’s West Java International Airport. Another industrial area (aerocity) of 3,480 hectares is located near the airport.

Majalengka regency has also allocated 321 ha of land in Palasah subdistrict for industrial estates, about 8 kilometers from the Majalengka administrative center. The area is intended to host several industries, including the textile, agrochemical, metal, machinery, transportation and telematics industries.

However, much work remains to be done. The new industrial estate requires higher-quality workers, and cannot hire only unskilled workers.

The TPT industry is booming and raising hopes. But without strategy and innovation, one factory will open somewhere while another closes somewhere else, only to relocate hope from one place to another.