Talking Indonesia

Across the world, the International Labour Organisation has highlighted the significant impacts lockdown policies have had on 1.6 billion informal workers, concentrated in low and middle income countries like Indonesia. The differing effects of Covid-19 responses on informal sector workers and those in formal employment is a massive issue for Indonesia, where more than half of the workforce works in the informal sector. How have informal sector workers coped during the Covid-19 crisis in Indonesia, and what is the Indonesian government doing to assist them? In this week’s Talking Indonesia podcast, Dr Dave McRae discusses these issues with Joanna Octavia, Visiting Fellow at Centre for Strategic and International Studies Indonesia, and a PhD Candidate at the Warwick Institute for Employment Research. She is the author of the recent CSIS Commentary, Towards a national database of workers in the informal sector: COVID-19 pandemic response and future recommendations. Today’s episode is the latest in the “Pol