According to data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), Indonesia's leather and footwear industry exports reached 438,000 tons in 2022, with a total value of USD 8.9 billion.
This achievement represents an increase of approximately 20% compared to 2021, marking the highest record in the last eight years, as shown in the graph.
Commodities in this leather and footwear industry group include athletic shoes, industrial/field technical shoes, everyday footwear, goods made of leather and artificial leather, and tanned leather.
In 2022, athletic shoes had the largest export volume and value, contributing approximately 60% to the total achievement of its industry group.
However, in 2023, the export performance of this industry is at risk of weakening due to decreased global demand.
To anticipate this risk, the Minister of Manpower (Menaker), Ida Fauziyah, has allowed several industrial sectors, including the leather and footwear industry, to cut worker salaries by a maximum of 25%.
The details of this policy are stipulated in Article 8 of the Minister of Manpower Regulation Number 5 of 2023, which reads:
(1) Certain labor-intensive export-oriented industries affected by global economic changes may adjust worker wages, with the provision that wages paid to workers are at least 75% (seventy-five percent) of their usual wages.
(2) The adjustment as referred to in paragraph (1) is made based on an agreement between the employer and the workers.
Labor-intensive industries permitted to cut worker salaries must meet the following criteria:
* A minimum of 200 workers;
* Labor costs account for at least 15% of production costs; and
* Production depends on orders from the United States and countries in Europe, evidenced by order requests.